The Son of Thanatos
by Dr.Noun The Prodegy
Summary: Percy Jackson is far from a happy go lucky son of Poseidon. In fact he isn't even a son of Poseidon to begin with. Despite having everything taken from him by the ones he thought he could trust, he learned to move on. But alas, fate thought differently. Despite his best efforts to stay in the shadows, he is somehow always dragged right back out.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

*Ring!* *Ring!*

"Wha-?" I said groggily. I had dozed off away while listening to whatever the teacher was saying.

It took me moment to regain my senses.

The school bell, I realized.

"Finally" I thought to myself. I didn't think I would ever make it, but here I was, the end of the school year.

"Hurry up Percy, lets go!" I heard my best friend Grover say from behind me.

I say best friend, but really he was my only friend. I had met Grover real early in the school year. We had immediately clicked with each other, something that wasn't too common for me at Yancy Academy.

"Yeah, I know, I'm coming" I replied over my shoulder.

I immediately got up and prepared my bags, I wasn't going to waste any time.

But of course, I couldn't leave that easily.

"Not so fast, Mr Jackson." I heard an annoying voice say to me.

I slowly turned around, not stoked to be met with the sour face of my teacher, Mrs Dodd's.

It may be rude to say, but I meant it. Every time I saw her face, it reminded me of someone eating a lemon whole. And her personality didn't help.

Ever since the first day of school, Mrs Dodd's had been out for my neck.

Now that school was over, I couldn't be bothered with her, but as long as I made it through this, I wouldn't have to see her ever again.

I nodded towards Grover to let him know I would catch up with him.

Grover gave me a worried look, knowing how much Mrs Dodd's hated me, but I assured him I would meet him at my locker.

"Fine just don't get in too much trouble." He said as he left the room.

"I'll try." I muttered

I turned around to see Mrs. Dodds staring at me angrily making me wonder if I did anything wrong. I stood their for a second focusing on everything but her face, but she continued to stare at me. "This is kinda uncomfortable" I thought.

"So, what di-"

"I'm done playing this little game, demigod" she hissed the last word. The door behind me immediately shut, causing the whole room to vibrate.

Wait what did she call me?

"Uhhh, what?" I asked

"I know you have stolen your fathers relic! Return it at once, and I shall give you a painless death!" She screeched out.

I stared at her like she was crazy.

Cause she was.

"Uh, I don't know what kind of set up this is, but..."

I couldn't finish my sentence.

In front of me, Mrs Dodds had transformed from her already ugly self, into a bat-like creature with fanged teeth and pointed ears.

I stood in utter fear and shock, petrified by the monster in front of me.

"Times up,sweetie." Mrs. Dodds said, her voice almost demonic

Before I could react she lunged at me.

I instinctively closed my eyes and braced my body for the imminent pain.

1 second... 2 seconds...

I was standing there waiting for my death, but there was nothing.

I slowly opened my eyes, scared of what was in front of me.

Mrs Dodd's was still standing in front of me, just as terrifying as before, but instead of tearing into me she was just...standing there.

"Wha-What?! What's is this?! What did you do to me?!" She screeched out.

I was wondering what she was talking about when I noticed something I didn't see the first time.

Attached to Mrs Dodd's feet and hands were handcuffs. And that wasn't the weirdest part, because the chains themselves seemed to be coming from the ground itself.

But that wasn't the only strange thing about them. The chains themselves didn't even seem to be solid.

If I didn't focus on the chains themselves, it was hard to tel they were even there. Instead they just looked like a blue mist.

I stared at Mrs Dodds, completely confused as to where the chains came from.

I was only awoken from my trance when Mrs Dodds "screeched" me back into reality.

"Free me at once, demigod! Free me before I tear you inside out!" She said in her blood curdling voice.

I decided that the chains would last long, and I didn't want to be here when they did eventually break.

I immediately bolted straight to the door and swung it open.

And it turned out I was right, because not a second after I left the room, I heard Mrs Dodds break the chains.

I wasted no time and immediately made my way through the halls, not looking back. But my curiosity soon got the best of me, causing me to take a glance back.

And I was met with a sight straight from a horror movie. Mrs Dodds was flying through the hallways, bumping into lockers and open doors, seemingly disorientated.

I had no doubt that if we were out in the open, I would have already been dead.

But disorientated or not, her glowing red eyes were enough to strike fear in any man.

I immediately regretted looking back, because as soon as as I did, my fear got the best of me, causing me to slow down for a moment.

Mrs Dodds wasted no time, immediately pouncing on me, claws out.

I barely had time to duck under her attack, but Mrs Dodds was far from done.

I tried my best to run away but Mrs Dodd's immediately grabbed my foot and dragged me closer to her.

I immediately grabbed my book bag and launched it at Mrs Dodds. What can I say, it was the only thing I had and it seemed like a good idea.

The bag itself didn't seem to do much more than annoy her, but it was all I needed to make my escape.

I ran as fast as I could, this time not looking back no matter what I heard.

I tried my best to cry for help, but all that came out was a wheezy breath.

But it didn't matter, there was no one in the halls to help, and even if there were, I doubt they would do anything.

With my body in autopilot, I turned the corner and immediately bumped into Grover. We both hit the ground with a large *thud*.

"Woah woah woah, Percy chill out." He said, noticing my expression.

"Why are you running so fast in the halls?" He asked helping me up.

"Grover! Our math teacher, she's a monster!" I yelled at him.

Grover stared at me for a second, making me thing he was gonna call me a crazy idiot. But instead, his response surprised me.

He whispered something before answering. "Di immortalis" I think it was.

"Percy," he said. "We need to go, Now!" He replied.

Seeing as I had no opposition, I followed Grover as we ran down the hallway.

We ran as fast as we could, not daring to look back despite the fact that the monster was telling us to stop.

We burst through the front door of the school, sprinting our way straight through the parking lot. We passed several groups of kids who probably thought we were crazy, but I didn't care. My life was at stake.

I continued to follow Grover till we had made our way a good block away from school. I was confident that the monster had stopped chasing us a while back, but we weren't taking any chances.

We came across a a bus stop on the corner of the street, and finally slowed down. We sat down on the bench and attempted to catch our breath. After what seemed like forever, I finally spoke.

I looked over at Grover. "What...what was that?" I asked shakily.

"Too much- Too much to explain here, you just have to follow me" He said getting up.

"No! I'm not going anywhere till you tell me what just happened." I said defiantly.

Before he could respond, the air was filled with a loud ear piercing screech. Soaring above us was Mrs Dodds slowly circling down.

"You have escaped me for too long, demigod! It is time for you to die. I will enjoy eating you and your satyr friend." She hissed with a sly smile.

Me and Grover prepared to make another break for it, but we didn't have to.

Immediately after Mrs Dodds landed, a huge 18-wheeler game around the corner, and ran into her full speed.

...

Grover and I stared at the spot Mrs Dodds had been seconds before, dumbfounded. After a couple of minutes trying to comprehend what just happened I looked at him. "I think I'm ready to follow you." I said.

"Uh huh." He replied, still staring at the spot where got hit by the car.

We sat in silence waiting for the bus. I didn't know about Grover, but the silence was killing me. After a while I couldn't take it anymore.

"Sooo... you gonna tell me what the heck just happened?" I asked.

"No. Not here, at least." Grover said without looking at me. "Wait for the bus to get here."

"Why-?" Before I could finish my question Grover cut me off.

"That truck didn't kill her. Only bought time. We can't let our guard down."

And just like that, all conversation was over.

My mind was racing at a million miles per hour, trying to comprehend everything that just happened.

It felt like my head was going to explode when the bus finally pulled up.

Me and Grover quickly hopped on and payed the driver. We immediately made our way to the back of the bus, avoiding eye contact with anyone else.

"Explain. Now." I demanded as soon as we sat down.

"Well, this isn't an ideal place to explain, but...here we go." He said.

"Percy, do you know anything about Greek mythology, the gods, to be specific?" He asked, keeping his voice low.

"Uh,ya?" I replied skeptically "The ones like Zeus, Poseidon, and Apollo, right?"

"Yeah yeah, them, but uh, maybe not say their names so casually." He said nervously. "But anyways, those gods, the Olympians, are real."

I stared at him for awhile making sure I heard him right. I searched his face, looking for any trace of a smile or grin. But there were none. After a moment I finally spoke.

"You're kidding..right? This isn't a funny joke, Grover." I said.

"Because I'm not joking, Percy! You have to believe me, the gods are real!" He said "And monsters are too."

I stared at him waiting for him to crack a smile and say it was all a joke. He didn't smile.

Thirty minutes ago I would've called him a liar flat out. But now,for some reason, I believed him.

Probably cause of what had just happened just happened.

"So are you saying that Mrs. Dodds was a.. a monster?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes, Percy, a kindly one, one of the most dangerous of them all. The fact that she came for you means there will be many more hunting you down, unless you follow me to camp."

"Woah! Wait up! Why are they hunting me, what did I do to them to deserve this?!" I asked.

"And what camp are you talking about?"

"Percy, I get this is a lot to take in, but you have to listen. What were the gods notorious for in the myths?" He asked

I stared at him. After a second he seemed to realize that I'd didn't know the answer. He should know I don't pay attention in class.

"The gods had tons of kids with mortals Percy, and they haven't changed over the millennia." He said. "And those kids live dangerous lives, constantly on the run from monsters."

"Ok...but what are you trying to say?" I asked fearing the answer.

"I think you know Percy..." he said "One of your parents, is a god."

**And there you have it, new and improved chapter one. You may not notice too many changes besides the notable ones, but this was needed. If your new to the story, feel free to leave a review on wether you think its good/bad. **


	2. Chapter 2

Previously:

"The gods had tons of kids with mortals Percy, and they haven't changed over the millennia." He said. "And those kids live dangerous lives, constantly on the run from monsters.

"What are you trying to say?" I asked fearing the answer

" I think you know Percy," he said "One of your parents is a god."

Chapter Two

I sat there in silence trying to comprehend what I just heard, repeating Grover's statement over and over in my head trying to process.

After what seemed like an eternity I spoke. "So your saying that Dad was a god?" I asked, the words sounding weird coming out my mouth.

"Well yeah since your mom is mortal." Grover replied.

"But my mom said that that dad in a car crash a day after I was born." I said

"Percy, that was something your mom made up to cover up your fathers disappearance." Grover said.

"So I've been lied to my entire life?

"There was a reason, Percy, because if you knew the truth about your father, you would acquire a scent that would make it easy for monsters to find you and kill you." Said Grover.

"Ok, but Grover, who is my father? I asked.

Grover thought for a second before answering, "I don't know Percy, and to be honest, you may never find out, the gods are like that, sometimes they forget about their kids and ignore them."

"But the fury called me something. The son of death. Does that mean anything? I said to him.

Grover got wide eyed and muttered something under his breath, "broken the oath" was all I caught.

Just then I remembered something. "When the fur-uhh kindly one attacked, she went through me as if I was made of smoke."

"Wait what?!" Grover looked surprised.

Before I could say anything the bus came to a stop.

"Wait where are we going?" I asked realizing I didn't yet know the answer.

"To your moms apartment so she can take us to Camp Half Blood, a place where you will be safe." Grover replied. "But before that I need to use the bathroom real quick, do not move till I come back."

"Ok, I won't." I told him as we got off the bus.

Confession time. I ditched Grover the second he walked into the bathroom. What can I say, he was freaking me out about all this kindly ones and half blood talk. I needed to be alone to have some time to think.

I walked all the way to Central Park trying to find a place to think. I found some nice shade and sat against the tree trunk. I thought about my father and who he could've been, and where he was now. With all these thoughts I started to nod off, eventually I fell into the realm of dreams. Safe to say I had some pretty weird dreams.

I was in a large black room that was lit by pedestals filled with green flames. At the end of the room there was a large black throne with weird cravings. In the throne was a large man clad in black battle armor with a scythe displayed across his lap. The man was looking down at another being. This entity wore a wispy cloak that covered most of its body. It almost looked like he was made out of smoke, making it somewhat hard to focus on.. I tried to get a good look at his face but all I saw was blackness under the hood. A ghost, I somehow knew.

"Nekros, give me a report on the enemy." The man on the throne said in a deep intimidating voice. "The enemy continues to grow in the darkness, my lord, corrupting more and more spirits each day." The ghost named Nekros replied.

"It is as I feared, it seems I have put it off too long, the time has come for me to face this threat head on." Said the man on the throne.

"Uhh, master, I advise against such actions, the enemy is quite powerful as of right now, but if they were able to capture you there power would become immeasurable." Said the ghost

"Do you have such little faith in me, my servant, that you believe I will fall to this enemy?" The man said.

"Of course not my lord, I just had your best interest in mind." Replied the ghost.

"I know Nekros, do not worry, I do not intend to lose this fight." The man said with a slight smile.

"Of course my lord." Said the ghost.

"I am glad you understand. With that said I will attack at morning tomorrow, when the enemy is at its weakest. In the unlikely event that I do not return I entrust to you, Nekros, my loyal servant, the responsibility of taking care of my son. I expect you are willing to accept such an task?" The man asked.

"I would be honored, my lord." Replied Nekros.

"Thank you, my servant. With that you are dismissed." Said the man with a smile.

With that the servant bowed and dissipated into to smoke, then left the room.

The man stood up from the throne, the smile gone from his face. He looked out the massive window on the side of the room, his scythe in hand.

"I am ready for you...Father."

The dream seemed to shimmer and I was in a completely different place. The image in front of me was of a woman and the same man from the previous dream in a gazebo surrounded by dead trees. On closer inspection I saw that the woman was actually my mother, and in her hand was a baby, that I presumed to be me. "The past?" I wondered. My thoughts were interrupted by the mans voice.

"I am sorry I must go, my love but my duty's call for me." Said the man.

"It's fine, I promise, me and little Perseus will be fine." My mom said with a slight laugh.

"Even so I will not leave without leaving this with my dear son." Said the main as he pulled out a box. In the box was a obsidian black ring with strange symbols ingrained in them. He took the ring out of the box and place it on the baby's small fingers. The ring instantly shrunk to fit the finger.

"A weapon, that will appear in your time of need, sweet child." Said the man kissing the baby's forehead.

"Now I must depart, my love, may I see you soon." Said the man as he kissed my mom and poofed in a cloud of darkness.

I woke up from my strange dream to a weird growling sound. I looked up to see a massive dog the size of a rhino with bared teeth, staring right at me. "Maybe it's friendly." I though hopefully. The dog started running at me full speed, mouth right open. "Nope."

Without knowing what to do I jumped to the side of the charging dog. Not a second too soon as the dog bit down, narrowly missing me and hitting the tree. I thought of running but decided not to seeing as how this thing would rip my back out in two seconds.

I was trying to think of something to do when something shiny caught my eye. There on my finger, was a black ring. I tried to take it off but as soon as I tried to it turned into a black mist. The mist was shapeless for a moment, but not a second later, I had in my hand a five foot long scythe with a wicked point. "Woahhhhh." I though.

I didn't have much time to marvel at the weapon, as now the dog had recovered from running into the tree. The dog seemed weary of the weapon in my hand, but didn't hesitate a second to charge at me again. I experimentally swung at the dog, cutting it a little bit on the side of its face. The dog jumped back and whimpered slightly.

I decided I would have to wait longer before swinging if I wanted to finish this thing. The dog circled me, waiting for an opening. Apparently seeing one, it charged. I waited before attacking, "Hold it...Hold it...NOW!" I thought as I swung the scythe. It cut through the dog like butter, leaving behind a pile of grey dust. "Nice."

I looked at the scythe wondering what I was gonna do with it. As if responding to my thoughts it instantly turned into smoke that wrapped around my finger. In an instant I had a black ring around my finger.

I looked at my hand for a moment, contemplating my next move. I figured I needed to find answers. As of right now I knew two things, the ring on my hand was the same one from the dream, and the man on the black throne, was my father.

**IM BACK! I know i said it would be months before i was back but things have changed for the better, so here we are. Obviously it has been a while since I have started this story and honestly I kinda forgot some of the plot, so there may there may be some small plot holes (nothing serious, mind you) and some weird wording but nothing too serious. I think im just gonna write and Ill use the original plot as a guide but this way everything will flow. But with that said ill see yall in the next chapter. Byeeeee!**


	3. Chapter 3

Previously:

I looked at my hand for a moment, contemplating my next move. I figured I needed to find answers. As of right now I knew two things, the ring on my hand was the same one from the dream, and the man on the black throne, was my father.

Chapter Three

I walked toward my moms apartment complex, my head full of questions. As I climbed up the stairs I saw the door to my moms apartment slightly open, which confused me seeing as how my mom was never this careless. I opened the door slightly to see Grover pacing in my living room with a worried expression, muttering. In the kitchen my mom was on the phone talking frantically.

Grover noticed me walk in first. "Oh my god, Percy your alive!" He said happily and relieved. Before I could say anything I was tackled by my mom in a tight hug. "We were so worried." She said almost crying. "I'm so glad you're safe." I hugged her back because honestly, wether or not my dad was a god I was happy to see her.

"I'm glad too see you too mom, but right now we need to talk." I said, getting straight to business. "There may not be much time."

My mom looked at Grover for a second and seemed to find out what I wanted to talk about. "I understand," she said, "we should sit down."

My mom sat down in a chair and me and Grover sat down on the long couch. "So what do you want to know, Percy?" My mom asked, already knowing the answer.

"I want to know about dad, who he was, where he is, and how you met him." I said.

"I'm sure Grover has told you already but Percy, your father, was a god. To be more specific...The god of death, Thanatos." She paused for a second. "Wow" I breathed. I had heard about Thanatos before, he was death itself in the Greek world, the one who collected spirits and led them to the underworld. "I know it may be hard to believe but I met your father shortly after my uncle died. He understood my pain and comforted me in my time of need. He emphasized with me. He also brought me you, the best thing that has ever happened to me." She said with a slight smile.

"As of right now, he must be doing his duty's as all gods do. I haven't seen him since the month you were born." She said. "But the fact that you have that," she pointed at my ring. "Means that he may want to contact you. That ring was a gift that was left by your father for protection. But it wouldn't activate without the will of your father."

"So what should I do?" I asked, confused on what to do with this information. "I want you to contact your father." She said. "Wait, what? You want me to go meet dad?! Where would I even find him?" I asked.

"Maybe not your father directly because as I said he is a very busy man, but someone associated with your father." She said. "As for where, you should probably start with the gazebo in Central Park, that is the last place I saw your father."

"Ok..." I said trying to process everything. "But what will you do?"

"I will try to contact Camp Half Blood, a place where you will be safe from monsters." She said.

"Wait, why haven't I heard of this place if I would be safe from monsters?" I asked.

"Percy if you'd had gone to-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as the door burst open. From it emerged Mrs Dodds and two other kindly ones. Mrs. Dodds wore a cruel smile on her face. Perseus Jackson, if have escaped me fro too long. If I had my way you would be dead where you stand. But a certain someone wants you alive, lucky for you. But know this, you have till the summer solstice to find the stone, till then I will be taking her!" She said as she summoned a fiery while and wrapped it around my mom. She pulled her closer and flew out the window.

"No!" I screamed as me and Grover rushed outside." I looked to see the fury flying around the corner, my mom in tow.

I dropped to my knees, stricken with grief trying to comprehend what I had just witnessed. My mom was gone.

After a minute, Grover spoke. "Percy, it's ok."

"No it's not, I just saw my mom be kidnapped by a demon!" I yelled. "We have to go after them."

"No! We can't, didn't you hear what the kindly one said, we have to find the stone she was talking about." Grover said.

"What, why?" I asked

"Because if she took your mom that means she is probably using her as a hostage, otherwise she probably would've killed her on the spot. If we find the thing she was talking about." Said Grover.

"Ok, but what stone is she talking about? It can't just be any random rock?"

"Your right but I think I have an idea of what to do." Grover said. "Remember what your mom said about the gazebo, how your father would contact you then. Maybe we could ask him for help."

"Ok, but the kindly one said something about finishing before the solstice. When is that?" I asked.

"Twelve days, not a lot of time for a quest so we should make the most of our time." Said Grover. "We should probably set out for the gazebo immediately."

"All right," I said shakily, "let's go."

We set out for the nearest bus stop. Our plan was to use the bus to get as close as possible to the gazebo. And then to walk the rest of the way through the woods. We felt that we should avoid walking seeing as how it would give monsters a chance to catch up to us

Once we arrived to the bust stop Grover spoke. "So Percy, what did you do after you left me at the bus stop earlier." He asked. "Oh uhh sorry about that, but I walked into the park to clear my mind. I had a couple weird dreams." I said. "The first one was my father telling a ghost to look after me if he couldn't. The second one was of a my dad and mom and me. It was at the gazebo that we are going to, the last place my mom had seen my dad. That's when he gave me this." I said pointing to my ring.

I decided to leave out the part about the threat my dad was facing seeing as how it probably wasn't important to the current situation and would only worry Grover more. "Hmm," Grover thought for a moment." Maybe we are going to see the ghost you dreamt of at the gazebo. Maybe that's why you hade those specific dreams. But I'm confused as to why I've never seen you with that ring before and why it only appeared now.

"Oh, well it appeared after I woke up and there was this massive brown dog in front of me. I took it off and it became a scythe." I said, somehow forgetting to mention this earlier.

"You killed a hellhound without training? Well I guess that explains the cuts and tears in your shirt. But I'm surprised you were able to do that." Said Grover.

"A hellhound, huh, they sure were scary. But I was only able to do it because my weapon cut through it with ease." I said.

"Well magical weapons will do that. They'll cut through monsters and godly beings like it's nothing. But they have no effect against mortals. They're just not worthy enough for a blade to care for them." Grover said.

"I would like to see the weapon but a bus is not a great place to pull out a weapon, even with the mist." He said.

"The mist?" I wondered?

"It's the thing that obstructs magical things from mortals, transforming mythical things into something they can understand. That's why that bus driver didn't react to hitting the kindly one, probably just thought it was a raccoon." He said.

"Oh," I said. "Grover you seem to know a lot about the Greek world, are you a demigod.?"

Grover chuckled a bit before he replied. "Nah, I'm no demigod. I'm just a satyr, half human half goat." He said lifting his pant leg a little bit to reveal a hairy leg. "Satyrs like me were born for finding half bloods and leading them to safety."

"So why are you on this quest with me? Shouldn't you be trying to take me to Camp Half Blood?" I asked.

"Well part of my mission is to keep you safe, and we can't ignore a summons from your father so staying with you is the best way for me to protect you. And also because your my friend Percy, and I'll stick with you till the end."

"Thanks Grover." I was glad to have someone to count on through all of this crazy stuff happening.

"No problem." He said as the bus came to a stop.

"Well we better get going." He said as he started to get up.

We got off the bus stop and headed into Central Park. I didn't know exactly where to go. All I knew was that the gazebo was surrounded by dead trees in the middle of a forest. "Grover, I don't exactly know where to go." I said. "Don't worry I may be able to use a little bit of satyr magic to find the place." He replied. He opened a pout he from his pocket and pulled out an acorn. "Surrounded by dead trees you said?" I nodded.

"Alrighty then." He said as he crushed the acorn. He spread it out a bit and muttered some sort of chant. After a little bit he spoke. "Hmm I haven't found any dead trees per say, but I found some dead roots in the ground. Wanna check those out? He said.

"Yea, I guess if it's the only lead we have." I replied.

With that I followed Grover into the woods. There seemed to be a lack of wildlife in this area witch I guess was a good sign if your looking for dead things. We went deeper and deeper into the forest till we found something a bit confusing. It was a gazebo but instead of being surrounded by dead trees, it was surrounded by little tree saplings.

"This is the place." Grover said. "Hmm, I guess they cut down the old trees and replaced them with newer ones." I pointed out. "I guess that would explain why only the roots were left." Grover added.

I proceeded to walk forward towards the gazebo before turning back to Grover. "I think you should stay back for this. Just in case something happens, y'know." "Alright, just be careful." He said.

I walked up the steps wearily, expecting the get jumped by a ghost or anything, but there didn't seem to be anything else present. I stood in the middle waiting for someone to appear. "Hello?" I said to the darkness. After a second I saw something shimmer in the moonlight. In an instant appeared a ghost.


	4. Chapter 4

Previously:

I walked up the steps wearily, expecting the get jumped by a ghost or anything, but there didn't seem to be anything else present. I stood in the middle waiting for someone to appear. "Hello?" I said to the darkness. After a second I saw something shimmer in the moonlight. In an instant appeared a ghost.

Chapter Four

I instantly recognized him from the markings on his robes. "Nekros" I said aloud.

"Yes, young master, it is I." The ghost replied in a spooky voice. Even tough the ghost was, in fact, quite intimidating, I didn't feel scared at all. For some strange reason, I felt confident. "I presume my father sent you?" I said. "Yes my lord, for a good reason." Replied the ghost. "Their is trouble stirring in the underworld, as well as the overworld, but that is a different matter." "Ok,"I said, "but what exactly is up?"

"Well, an item known as the stone of souls has been stolen. This stone contains the soul of beings too evil or too powerful to be kept in the fields of punishment. The stone is usually under the watch of Lord Hades but was stolen when he took it to the winter solstice. If someone manages to break the stone then they would have an army so powerful and destructive that they could take over Mt. Olympus itself."

"Oh." I said, dumbfounded from this information. "And you want me to retrieve the stone?

"Well, your father Thanatos wants you to, yes." Replied the ghost.

"Why can't he himself come to me and request this. Or why can't he just get the stupid stone himself?" I said slightly angry that my father only wanted me to use me.

"Do not be too harsh on your father, for he himself did try to find the stone but the thief is able to sense his godly power and escape. And he cannot come himself because come to you because Lord Hades is angered at him for not finding the stone."

"Well how am I supposed to find this thing if a god can't?" I asked.

"Well as a demigod the enemy will not be able to sense you and escape as they have with Lord Thanatos, but also you will be able to search for the thief without attracting the attention of other gods." Said Nekros.

"Hmm, ok, but who could the thief be?" I asked

"Your father believes it to be Zeus or one of his children." Said Nekros.

"Zeus, as in the king of the gods?!" I exclaimed. Why would he want something from Hades?"

"Because Zeus has also lost something of great value to him and he suspects Hades has stolen it, though he blames Poseidon, because he broke the oath, giving him a reason to war with his other brother. But your father suspects that Zeus believe Hades will return the item if he steals the stone from Hades. But Hades is too arrogant to believe that Zeus would steal from him."

"This is just too much,for me, why are these all powerful gods losing their weapons, and why do I have to fix it." I asked.

"Your only worry is to find the stone, young master. Zeus's weapon is someone else's problem. As for where to go, I believe seeking out Ares, the god of war may be a good person too seek out, seeing as how all the other children of Zeus have too much sense to steal from Lord Hades."

"How will I find Ares?" I asked. "I would start by seeking out one of his godly children, Phobos or Deimos, for they might be willing to tell you his location."

"Ok, but how will I find them?" It seemed like this quest keeps getting larger and larger.

"It would be in your best interest to find a powerful monster, and sacrifice it to the brothers." Said Nekros. "I will try my best to check on you as much as I can."

"I-I understand," I stuttered, I was a bit shaken realizing what I was getting into. "I just wish I could see my father in person."

"Do not worry, young master, for if you complete this quest you will surely get to meet him." Said the ghost. "But the day is fast approaching and I must depart."

"Thank you Nekros, for your help, and tell my father that I will complete this quest for him." I said confidently.

"I will my lord." He said. I swear I could feel his smile. But with that he disappeared into mist.

I walked down the steps to see Grover sitting against a tree trunk nodding off. As soon as he saw me he jumped up. "Percy!" He goat bleated. "I don't know what happened, as soon as you walked in the gazebo it was surrounded by black mist. It's been almost an hour."

"Weird, it only felt as if it was a couple minutes. But I know what I must do. And Grover...I think it would be best if I went on this quest alone." I told him.

"What?!" He exclaimed. "I thought we were in this together, and it's my mission to protect you."

"I know Grover, but this is for me, and me alone. Please Grover just go back to Camp Half Blood and tell them you didn't find any demigods or something. Just cover for me, please."

"Fine Percy. But I want you to follow me to Camp Half Blood so you know where to go if you need a place to rest." He said

"Deal." I Replied.

"I guess we better get going, you don't have much time." He said.

We made our way out of the forest. Once we got onto the main road I realized that I had no idea what we were doing. "Wait Grover, how do we get to Camp?" I asked.

"Just watch." He said. He dug in his pocket for a second and pulled out a gold coin. He whispered some sort of chant and threw it on the road.

A second later a whispy taxi made out of smoke appeared right in front of us. The driver turned around revealing her one big eye. "Get in." She said. Me and Grover hopped in the back of the car, which was weird seeing as how it was made of smoke.

"Camp Half Blood please." Said Grover as he put his seatbelt on.

"Hmph, a demigod and satyr," muttered the driver under her breath. Her two sisters murmured in agreement. "Alright then, that will be three drachmas upon arrival."

"No problem." Replied Grover.

The driver scoffed before hitting the gas pedal hard. The gas sped off at unimaginable speeds through the roads then through the woods. In seconds we were at a hill overlooking a big red house.

"The payment." Said the driver.

"Of course." Said Grover as me and him hopped out. He threw three more gold coins through the window. "Thanks for the ride he said.

The driver scoffed and drove off at lightning speeds.

"Those were the grey sisters, best way to get around, though not always reliable." Said Grover. "But I guess this is goodbye, for now."

"I guess so. I'll make sure to get back with you once I finish my quest." I said.

"I'll look forward to it." He replied with a smile.

"Goodbye, Grover." I said

"Cya Percy." With that he turned around and walked down the hill


	5. Chapter 5

Previously:

"But I guess this is goodbye, for now."

"I guess so. I'll make sure to get back with you once I finish my quest." I said.

"I'll look forward to it." He replied with a smile.

"Goodbye, Grover." I said

"Cya Percy." With that he turned around and walked down the hill

Chapter five

As soon as Grover disappeared past the hill I turned my back on Camp Half Blood. I faced the woods that surrounded the camp. I had to find a monster powerful enough to get the attention of Deimos and Phobos because something told me a little hellhound wasn't the biggest and baddest thing in town. With that in mind I trudged into the woods with no destination in mind.

After a while of walking deep into the forest I came across a patch of rocks that seemed to be a part of a cave. I had a bad feeling about this place but I moved forward with my ring ready. I moved to the entrance of the cave weary of the seemingly endless blackness. I picked up a rock and threw it straight into the darkness. Instead of hearing the clanging of rock on rock, I heard a thud followed by a deep groan.

Realizing that the cave wasn't empty I jumped back, and not a moment too soon. From the cave emerged a massive fist that slammed down on the place where I was seconds before. "Who dare awaken me from my slumber!" Bellowed a deep voice. Out from the cage emerged a 9 foot giant with a single eye in the middle of his big ugly face. A cyclops.

"Hahaha! A puny demigod! You shall become my lunch for disturbing me!" He said as he picked up a huge log effortlessly and used it as a weapon. "Uhh, how about no, I said as I pulled of my ring. Instead of summoning forth my scythe as expected, a long spear with a deadly looking point appeared instead. "I guess I could use the longer reach." I thought to myself.

"Demigod think he stands a chance with pointy stick? Pah! You make me laugh." Said the giant as he swung down his weapon. Seeing the attack coming from a mile away I rolled to the side of the swing with ease. He was quite slow, as to be expected with a monster his size. Seeing an opening a lunged forward launching my spear into the monsters thick legs.

The cyclops yelled in pain but didn't poof as I expected. To be honest it didn't seem to effect him much at all. "You will lay for that!" Said the monster. He instantly threw his log at me sideways and charged. I jumped over the projectile but was not expecting to be hit by the monsters meaty hands. I was flung s good ten feet away simply by his hit.

I got up as fast as possible only to see the monster charging again. Not knowing what to do I expected the worst. I quickly though about the hellhound and how I was able to kill it in one hit once I found the opening. But such a move wouldn't work with a spear. As if reacting to my thoughts the spear turned into mist and then back to its scythe form.

I waited for the monster to get closer to me. At the last second I jumped to the side while swinging my scythe. I had jumped much higher than I expected, cutting through the side of the cyclops's stomach. I thought it was over but I turned around to see the cyclops still alive, seemingly bleeding dust.

"No," It bellowed. "I will not die to you." With that it got up somehow. And charged at me again. I prepared to use the same move again but I realized something. I was extremely tired. Not only from my jump but also changing weapons.

Without being able to dodge to the attack I got into a defensive position ready to brace the attack. Once the cyclops met me it swung down its meaty arms. Nearly crushing me in an instant. I hung on for as long as possible but I was getting squished by the seconds. The cyclops finally let off but I was completely out of energy.

The cyclops grabbed me by my legs and lifted me into the air. He then threw me full force into a nearby tree. I sat at the trunk, defeated. I was surprised I was even alive at this point.i was hit with the realization that I could never complete this quest. There was no way I could defeat a powerful monster let alone take something from a god if I was defeated by a measly cyclops.

I was interrupted by my thoughts by the monsters word "Haha! That will teach puny demigod not to mess with me!" Said the monster. He took a couple steps towards me preparing to finish me off. Here I was, defenseless, about to die to a random cyclops. I was accepting my deafest when I bright light appeared and seconds later a golden spear protruded from the cyclops's stomach.

"What?" It said as it fell to its knees and exploded into dust. From the cloud of dust appeared a beautiful women in along flowing robe. She walked up to me and said some words that I didn't catch. Before I could try and speak I passed out from exhaustion.


	6. Chapter 6

Previously

"What?" It said as it fell to its knees and exploded into dust. From the cloud of dust appeared a beautiful women in along flowing robe. She walked up to me and said some words that I didn't catch. Before I could try and speak I passed out from exhaustion.

Chapter Six

I woke up from my nap of sorts in a very strange place. I was in a spring of sorts that seemed to be in a cave, with only my boxers on. I walked out onto the cold rock and found some clothes laying near me. I put them on and found that they fit me perfectly. They were quite the upgrade from the tattered rag i called a shirt and my ripped jeans.

I walked out of this little cave to find a nice little garden with a fence around it, and a stream running through it. There was a plethora of animals from birds to deer, all in harmony with one another. At the end of the garden near the gate sat a lady sitting on a large rock staring directly at me.

I made my way towards her, the animals didn't seem bothered by my, giving me a quick glance before going back to what they were doing. I noticed a grey owl in a tree watching my every move. For some reason it unnerved me, as if it was studying me.

I arrived in front of the lady awkwardly standing there, not knowing what to say. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, the beautiful lady spoke. "Do you know who I am? Little boy." She asked. I didn't feel at all offended that she had called me that, for some reason I felt like it was her right to, and that her talking to me was an honor. "No ma'am." I replied shakily somewhat nervous.

"Hmph, that is to be expected. My name is Athena, goddess of wisdom." Said the lady. "Oh." Was the only word I could form in my mouth.

"I am aware of your quest, and seeing how important it is that you complete it, I have decided to help you." She said. "I saw your attempts to defeat the cyclops, and though you failed miserably, I see potential in you to become a great warrior.

But to become more powerful you must first understand your weapon. That ring was given to you by your father, Thanatos. Whenever you need it you can summon it with no cost in any one of three forms. A scythe, a spear, or a sword. If you were to summon it in any of those forms and then switch forms mid battle, it will drain your energy. But be care, for If you drain too much energy you will become too weak to battle, and you may even die in some cases from the act of switching forms alone.

But the more you use this power the easier it will become. Eventually, if you live long enough, you will be able to switch forms without effort at all."

"Really?" I asked. Switching forms once was enough to make me too tired to battle. And the fact that switching forms with low energy could kill me, kinda scared me.

"Yes Perseus, but there is more." Said Athena. "There is one other power that comes from your heritage, one stronger the all the others." she said.

"What is that?" I asked.

"I cannot explain to you now, young demigod, but just know that whenever all seems helpless, look within and you will find great power." she said mysteriously.

"But Perseus, that is not the only knowledge I came to bestow upon you," Said Athena. "For I will help you find the monster you seek."

I perked up at these words. "How can I find it,my lady?"

"You must find the hunters of Artemis, and follow their hunt. Then you must somehow slay the beast alone and sacrifice it." She said.

"Who are the the hunters of Artemis and how do I find them?" I asked.

"They are a group of maidens dedicated to the goddess Artemis. The go around the U.S. hunting and killing monsters. Right now their patron goddess Artemis will be away on a mission for Zeus, which will make stalking them easier. But do not underestimate them, for that would be a grave mistake. "

"Why must I stalk them? Why can't I ask to just join them until we find a monster."I asked, confused.

Athena chuckled a little bit. "You truly are unaware of the Greek world. For you see, the hunters have sworn off men, and would not take too kindly to you asking to join there hunt. I assure you it's in your best interest to avoid getting caught by them at all cost." She said.

"But as for how to find them, I will place you near their camp and you must follow them from their."

"What do you mean place me?" I asked.

Athena smiled. "Goodbye young demigod. I wish you lock on your quest." She said. There was a bright light, and in a second I was gone.

I woke up from unconsciousness for the second time today, this time into a heavily wooded area. Around me were thick dark trees that reach 40 feet into the air. I got up from the ground and walked ahead into the forest, when I heard sounds of voices. I couldn't exactly tell what direction they were coming from so I climbed the tree to Gentry and get a better view. I saw ahead of me a little clearing with a camp full of girls all in light silver coats and black tight hunting pants.

In the middle of the camp was a girl who seemed to be a leader. She wore and silver tiara and stood up on a log. All the girls were listening to her speak. Today we must continue our hunt of the chimera. So close up camp and prepare to get moving.

"The chimera huh." I thought to myself. I had heard about it before. It was like a three headed lion that breathed fire. Or something like that, anyways. It definitely sounded scary and had to be enough to be able to summon Phobos and Deimos. But would I be able to kill it if I struggled against a cyclops? Probably not, but that won't stop me from trying.

While I was thinking the hunters had already packed up their camp so quickly I that It had to be magic. They moved at a a quick pace and I was barely able to keep up in the trees. I had always been good at climbing and now it was finally coming into use. Maybe Thanatos is the god of trees or something, I don't know?

But I had to admit, climbing definitely consumed more energy than running. Physical energy, not magical,. But I couldn't risk running on foot because then I wouldn't be able to see far enough ahead. And if these girls were hunters they would definitely find a boy running ten feet behind them.

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud screech. I looked around me trying to find the source of the noise. The leader of the hunters stopped to observe her surroundings.

But instead of looking up for a bird she scanned the ground as if she was looking for something else. Maybe someone. Either way I was glad she didn't look up, it was kinda hard to hide when your on a tree branch.

But my gratitude apparently wasn't appreciated, seeing as how a massive golden eagle dove down and me, claws first. I was barely able to dodge the attack by jumping down to a branch below me. Looking up I saw not one, but three eagles circling above. I decided to try and make my way to the bottom but hesitated when I saw what was down there. At the trunk of the trees, was six silver wolves, all circling around the trunk.

I decided the wolves were a better option seeing as how I could fall to my death if I stuck in the treetops for too long. So I made my way down, branch by branch. I stopped about ten feet above the ground. Obviously I didn't want to jump down at the trunk or else I would be eaten alive. So I decided I would run along the branch and jump off at the last second to get a head start.

I counted down in my head. "One, two, Three!" I said as I ran on the branch. I jumped a good 7 feet before landing on the ground with quite an impact. I ran as fast as I could hoping my demigod body would be able to outrun the wolves. It was then when I heard a voice.

"INTRUDER!" Yelled the voice of the leader of the hunters. "Get them!"

For some strange reason I had completely about the hunters with the wolves and eagles and such. But they seemed to be my biggest problem. I looked back to see that the hunters were ahead of the wolves already somehow. And their leader was gaining on me, quick. With little time I tried to think of something.

Maybe if I got far ahead enough I could separate the leader from the rest of the group or something and fight her 1 on 1. But how could I do that. My thoughts were interrupted (that's seems to happen a lot) by incoming arrow fire. "Of course the have arrows, there hunters!" I thought to myself. Forget getting away, they would just pincushion me. My only option seemed to be to stand and fight all 15-20 of these hunters. "Screw that," I thought. "They would destroy me."

"FREEZE." I heard there leader shout. "Or I will not miss this next shot." I obviously didn't listen because I, for some strange reason, thought I could escape these hunters. Well, I suffered for it dearly. In the next five seconds after she said those words I was shot in the leg,the arrow pierced straight through my my skin and muscle. I fell to the ground in agony. I screamed out in pain, scared to look at my own leg. The hunters all surrounded me with their arrows drawn. The leader stepped forward.

"You should have listened, foolish boy." She said.

I struggled to stand up for a bit, summoning my sword. For some reason I was angry. Angry at these hunters for shooting me even though I was the one trespassing. Angry at the gods for this quest. Angry at myself for being so weak, losing to every challenge so far. The leader seemed surprised before adopting a stern look. "It would be foolish of you to attempt anything, in your condition." She said, summoning a knife.

I ignored her words, and screamed out in rage. Darkness seemed to ripple off of me. The grass around me withered and the trees aged hundreds of years in mere seconds. Some of the hunters surrounding me fainted others dropped to their knees, struggling to get up. The leader was the only one still standing, but even she seemed to be struggling against some invisible force.

"Stop it, Stop at once!" She said. I couldn't keep this up forever I picked up my sword and swung at the huntress. She easily parried the attack and followed with an counter attack. I tried my best to dodge it but I was feeling extremely tired and was bleeding heavily. I instead lifted my sword to parry, but the force of the blow knocked me down. I was yet again defeated, even with this new power.

"If only you had listened when I told thee to freeze, yet you persisted. Now you have so little power left in you that you are on the verge of death, the fact that you are bleeding out does not help." She said. "Foolish boys like you will never learn." She said as she hit me with the butt of her knife, knocking me out.

**_Lowkey hate this chapter looking back on it, but who got time to revise when they could be sleeping?_**


	7. Chapter 7

Previously

"If only you had listened when I told thee to freeze, yet you persisted. Now you have so little power left in you that you are on the verge of death, the fact that you are bleeding out does not help." She said. "Foolish boys like you will never learn." She said as she hit me with the butt of her knife, knocking me out.

Chapter seven

At this point I can't even count how many times I've been knocked out. This time I woke up to total darkness. A blindfold, I realized. My mouth was also gagged and my hands and feet were also tied, and my whole body seemed to be tied to a pole or something.

"Zoe, I think the boy is awake." Said a soft feminine voice.

"About time, it has been hours since I knocked him out. Surely I didn't hit him that hard." Replied the leaders voice, who I assumed was named Zoe. "Sierra remove the blindfold and gag at once so I can speak to it." She said. "At once." Replied Sierra. A moment later the blind and gag were removed and I was able to see. I smacked my lips a couple times to get the weird tase out of my mouth.

I viewed my surroundings. I was tied to a small log sticking up by in the middle of the tent. The tent itself was quite large with a large mattress to the right of me. By the mattress was a desk with bandages and some medical alcohol. I assumed this was the sick bay or something. I looked down at my leg to see it bandaged with no traces of blood. Couldn't really move it but it didn't hurt at all, but did ache quite a bit. By I still felt extremely tired, I guess that I hadn't recovered my power yet.

"Explain yourself boy, why where you following the hunt." Said Zoe in an demanding voice. "I don't have to tell you anything." I said definitely. I was still kind of mad that I lost to these guys. Zoe calmly walked towards me and slapped me across the face, hard. "You will talk, for you are the one who invaded the hunters territory. Now use the little sense you have and tell me your reasoning, and you may make it out of here alive.

I didn't want to tell her the whole truth but I also did want to complete my quest so I explained myself. "I wanted to find and kill the chimera myself. With my ability's I wouldn't be able to find it alone so I decided to seek out the hunters so I could find it. I planned to wait for you to find the beast then step in and kill it. I didn't expect it to be so hard just to simply follow you guys." I replied with the half truth.

"Hmmm," murmured Zoe. "I do not sense a lie but I feel as if your leaving something important out." "Oh no." I thought. "But I see your reasoning for your actions. Of course they are not excused, especially for a boy. As such I will not kill you here but I will release you into the wilds and have my wolves chase you. If you survive, good for you, if not, more food for the wolves I suppose." She said.

"Wait, what?" I exclaimed. "I didn't go through all of this just to be thrown to the side."

Zoe gained a hard expression. "Do you expect me to just allow a boy to join the hunt? Fellow hunter or not, you are still a male and the fact is you trespassed on the hunters property. You should be thankful I don't kill you here and now."

"Look I'm sorry for stalking y'all, but I knew that I couldn't just approach y'all and ask to join the hunters. This hunt is really important to me and if I don't succeed then It will effect lots of other people."

Zoe though about it for a moment. She couldn't believe she was contemplating this. A boy joining the hunt?! Even if temporary this was a crazy idea, seeing as what happened last time. What would Artemis do? The boy seems to be quite powerful by the fact he was able to immobilize all the hunters of Artemis. "Even I struggled against his power." Zoe thought to herself. The chimera is a powerful enemy, and I won't be able to take all the hunters into battle for their own safety. "If I bring the boy along he may be able to help and if he dies it won't be my problem," she thought.

After a moment of silence she spoke. "I will allow you to accompany the hunters on this one hunt only. Your safety will not be the hunts responsibility though." Said Zoe, surprising the nurse girl and Percy.

"Thank you!" Said Percy "I would hug right now if I could!"

Zoe squinted at him. "Well maybe not." I corrected.

"As I was saying, you will not be allowed to sleep in the hunters camp and just provide for yourself. Is that pat understood?" Said Zoe.

"Of course, I get it." I replied.

"You still wish to accompany us then?" Zoe asked, seemingly surprised.

"Yeah, I get it, but one more thing. I need the body of the chimera to sacrifice." I said. "That's the whole reason as to why I need to kill it.

Zoe though for a moment. "Very well. We shall leave tomorrow at sunrise. You may spend the night as you please. Sierra cut him from his ropes." She said as she exited the room.

Being free from the ropes was such a relief, I don't know how I slept in that position, let alone for a whole day. "Thank you" I said to the nurse huntress. She nodded in response. I was about the leave the tent when the girl, Sierra, said something. "What are you gonna do now?" She asked. "Uhh I thought y'all weren't responsible of me?" I said, slightly confused. She blushed slightly. "I know it's just that, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go too deep into the woods. Your low on power and if you use too much you may pass out and get yourself killed before we even get to the chimera." She replied frantically. "Well uhh, that was kind of my plan." I said chuckling a bit. "But I should be able to fight without using energy. But thanks for worrying." "Oh, uhh, no problem." She said. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow." I said as I left the tent.

"Hmm." I thought hunters were supposed to hate boys. Zoe definitely does but that Sierra girl didn't seem to dislike me at all. Almost seemed as if she was worried for me. Well I guess it doesn't matter, really." I said trudging my way out of the camp. I guess Zoe already told the hunters about me cause none of them shot me down. Though some looked like they wanted to. No matter seeing as how once I get this monster I'll be on to the next part of this quest, and I won't need the hunters anymore. But for now I need to train. There's no way I'll be of any use to the hunters if I can't fight. I walked deeper into the woods waiting for monsters. I decided to use a spear against the chimera seeing as how it had worked for the original Perseus. Made sense to practice with one too.

I stopped in my track at the sound of a growl. No. Not one but multiple. Seconds later I was surrounded by a group of four or five hellhounds. "This should be fun." I thought. Immediately the biggest two charged me, with little time to think I stabbed my spear behind me, instantly piercing one through the skull, and yanked my spear out to hit the other one with the end of it. The rest of the dogs were weary of me, and so was I. Even though they probably couldn't take more than one hit, I was still outnumbered.

One of the smaller ones, apparently the most confident charged at me. I didn't expect it to attack to it got a good swipe on me. But I twirled my spear around and stabbed it threw the side. If that thing was a chimera that swipe may have killed me. I needed to be more careful. Getting tired of these games I quickly pounced forward and stabbed the biggest remaining hound in its upper thigh. With it crippled I landed the finishing blow to its head. The other two remaining ones fled the scene. Five hell hounds and only left with a scratch, not bad. I though to myself.

But my victory was short lived as a new challenger arrived. I realized that the two hellhounds were not running from me but from the thing coming out the shadows. From the darkness emerged a cyclops , slightly smaller than the one Athena saved me from. In one hand it held a six foot long trident that looked like a toothpick in its meat hand. In the other it held a heavily looking iron leash. And one the leash was the biggest hellhound I had ever seen (granted I hadn't really seen to many). This thing had to had been at leas seven feet tall it's back slightly shorter than the cyclops. The worst part was that both monsters were looking straight at me.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ayoooo. Whats up, Noun here, back with another chapter. All i want to say is that this chapter may not be the best. I wrote it with a sizable gap between the time of when i wrote chapter seven. So this chapter and the next few may be a little choppy, but don't worry, the plot will be just as great :). Thats all I had to say, enjoy the chapter.**

Previously

But my victory was short lived as a new challenger arrived. I realized that the two hellhounds were not running from me but from the thing coming out the shadows. From the darkness emerged a cyclops , slightly smaller than the one Athena saved me from. In one hand it held a six foot long trident that looked like a toothpick in its meat hand. In the other it held a heavily looking iron leash. And one the leash was the biggest hellhound I had ever seen

Chapter eight

My eyes darted between the hound and the cyclops, trying to decide which was a bigger threat. I deduced that thy cyclops would probably give me more trouble. After a moment of staring, the giant spoke. "Look what we have here, Betsy girl, a juicy demigod!" Said the beast.

Betsy, huh. Weird name for a 7 foot tall killing machine. I summoned forth my spear, ready for a big fight, determined to win. I had been thrown around two much, and I guess I was tired of being the Greek world's punching bag. With that in mind, I charged the two beast, spear in hand. Probably not the greatest idea, but I didn't really care to be honest.

"Eager little demigod, aren't you?" The cyclops Said in glee. "Makes lunch easy." The cyclops let go of the leash and held his trident with both hands. I continued my charge, planning to take out the dog quick before moving on to the cyclops. But I realized something very important too late. That the bigger threat wasn't the cyclops, but the dog. As soon as I tried to plunge my spear into the dog it jumped to the side with lightning speed. In a fraction of a second, the dog swiped at me with its massive paw, hitting me a good three feet back. I got back to my feet to see the dog lunging at me, not giving me time to recover.

I quickly got in a defensive position to repel the attack. As soon as the dog was off me, there was a massive trident incoming. I quickly jumped back, avoiding the attack. "Quick demigod, aren't you." Said the cyclops, seemingly disappointed he wouldn't get an easy meal. Boat monsters hesitated before charging again, waiting for an opening. Deciding that I couldn't win this battle with boy defense.

I charged at the dog, spear first ready to land a killing blow. But at the last second I jumped to the right towards the cyclops. I flew high through the air, spear in hand. I imagined that the image must've looked like one from a Greek story. I landed on the cyclops with my spear plunged deep in its chest. I hopped off as the giant fell to his knees. It stayed there for a second, with its one eye opened wide. "Betsy?" It said as it poofed into dust.

I turned around towards the hellhound, ready for it to charge me in a rage. But instead it walked over to the place where its former master died. It sniffed the dust a little bit before walking away, seemingly unconcerned. "Wait." I called out to it to the dog. It turned back to me with a confused expression. I walked over to the dog fearlessly for some reason, ad reached for its collar. The beast jerked his head back, teeth bared. "It's ok." I said. I didn't understand why I was helping a monster, but it just felt right.

I reached for the collar again, this time the hound didn't move, but watched my every movement. I tried to take off the collar, trying to officially free it from its old master. The beast seemed to understand my intentions, and bowed her head head a little bit. I was able to pry the collar off with my spear, freeing the dogs neck.

The dog shook her head a bit before stretching out on all fours. I started to walk off content with my good deed. I turned around when I heard the dog bark. When I looked back my face was greeted by a big wet lick from the dog. I guess it was her way of saying thank you. The dog then ran into the woods, seemingly disappearing into the shadows.

As I was making my way back to camp I saw something pointing out in the moonlight under the cyclops dust. Lying in the dust was the stone trident that the cyclops wielded, with its the three dulled tips. But that wasn't exactly what caught my attention. On one of the tips there was a necklace with a pendant hanging on it.

I picked up the pendant and saw some sort of ancient writing on it. And to my surprised I was kind of able to read some of it. "Heart of the sea" was all I could decipher. I decided to take it back to camp and maybe Zoe could tell me about it.

I made my way back to camp, realizing that the sun was starting to rise and that the hunters were probably already awake. I started to run back to camp in fear of being left behind. I decided that I would ask Zoe about the pendant tonight as I stuck it in my pocket.

As I approached the camp I saw the hunters awake and packing up. I looked to see Zoe talking to one of the hunters. "And you have found no trace of the boy?" I heard her say to the hunter. I walked up behind her and spoke. "Uhh hello?" I said, surprising her. "Where have you been!?" She said angrily. "We al let left you behind."

"Didn't you say that I wasn't your responsibility?" I asked. "Your safety's not, indeed. But you forget the whole point of why I am letting you join the hunt in the first place. It is so we can take down the chimera without risking our own hunters. So it would not make sense to leave you behind right now."

"Oh." I said, kind of disappointed. I thought they were actually worried for me. But I guess it doesn't matter as long as they didn't leave me behind.

"So now that you are here we should get moving. The St. Louis arch is not too far away from here." Said Zoe.

"Wait the St. Louis arch? As in Missouri?" I asked. There's no way Athena teleported me all the way over here. "Well what other arch would I be talking about." Zoe replied.

"So your saying the chimera is at the arch? Why would it be there and how could you tell?" I asked. "Because our scouts went ahead and learned that the chimera attacked some demigods visiting the arch. So we will try and lure the beast away into the woods, far from any mortals." She replied.

"Well I guess that makes sense, but I don't really get why the chimera would be at a national landmark." I said. "We believe it was sent by someone to kill a specific demigod. But that does not concern us, our only goal is to find and kill the beast. Now are you done asking questions?" She asked, seemingly annoyed.

I shook my head in response. "Good," she said. She turned to the hunters and spoke. "We shall depart to the arch at once. It should not be more then a fifteen minutes run."

She looked back at me. "We are leaving, try and keep up." She said with a slight smirk.

I nodded. "Shouldn't be too hard." I thought to myself.

Instantly Zoe started off into the woods with the rest of the hunters following her. She gracefully weaved between trees and ducked under branches, seemingly one with nature. None of the hunters seem to have trouble sticking with Zoe, though I can't say the same for myself. I was constantly getting cut by branches and hitting rocks. And even though the hunters weren't really sprinting, the were going fast enough that it was hard for me to keep up with their pace.

I tried to plan ahead for the battle but the environment was really making it hard to focus. And there was also a sickening feeling in my stomach. Nervousness. I was nervous that this monster would kill me instantly. Sure I had a little practice against hell hounds but this thing will probably be much bigger then one. There's also the fact that it breathes fire, something I've never faced off against.

But then I remembered something. The real reason I was on this quest. Not to be a hero, or to save the world. But for my mom. I didn't really care about my dad too much seeing as how he never even thought to stop by once, and the only reason he contacted me was to ask for help. But my mom was the only person in this world I truly cared about, without her I wouldn't even be here. So I had to complete this quest, for her sake.

Th though of my mother filled me with energy, and I bounded forward making the way to the front of the group, right behind Zoe. But unfortunately for me, that's exactly when she decided to stop. "Halt." She said. Me, being deep in thought, ran right into her causing us both to fall to the ground. The hunters instantly rushed to her aid and gave me mean looks. "I am fine." She said, scowling at me. "Next time lay attention, for we are here."

I looked in front of me to indeed see, the St. Louis Arch. But the scene in front of me was not what I expected. There was the arch I'm a green field, with a huge burning whole at the top of it. There were police officers around the perimeter all pointing their weapons at the thing underneath the arch, though none of them seemed to have much confidence that the gun would protect them.

But the scary thing was the creature underneath the arch. There, in the middle of the burning field, was the chimera, in all of its glory. Safe to say, that the thing was terrifying. You see, I had been imagining pretty much a three headed lion with fire breath, which is scary enough. But the thing in front of me was much, much worse. Instead of a three headed lion, as I remembered, there was a beast with a massive lion head in the front with a goat head protruding from the side, the size of a 18 wheeler. To make matters worse instead of a tale, the beast had a snake for a tail that was at least 15 feet long.

"There it is." Said Zoe. The chimera.


	9. Chapter 9

Previously

there was a beast with a massive lion head in the front with a goat head protruding from the side, the size of a 18 wheeler. To make matters worse instead of a tale, the beast had a snake at the end of his body that was at least 15 feet long.

"There it is." Said Zoe. The chimera.

Chapter nine

"Duh." I said. "It was the only word I could form as I watched the creature." Zoe gave me an annoyed look, but right now she wasn't the biggest problem. "So what is your plan." She asked. I looked at her, surprised. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"You planned on hunting the beast alone before we crossed path, did you not. How did you plan on taking the beast down." She stated. I was kinda dumbfounded seeing as how my original plan was just to follow the hunters. "Well um maybe we should lead the chimera into the woods, away from the mortals. Then you and I will face the beast head on while the rest of the hunters support with arrows." I said, making a plan up on the spot.

"Hmm," Zoe thought for a moment. "Your plan is sensible, but you said you would face the beast with a spear. Yet earlier you wielded a sword?"

"Oh well, my weapon kind of changes forms." I said taking my ring off and summoning my spear from the death mist.

"Hmm, very well. But now rises the question of how to attract the beast." She said while still looking curiously at my spear.

I opened my mouth to answer but was interrupted by a loud roar. I looked over to the chimera to see that it had noticed us. It turned towards us and made its way over. "Seems that we won't have to get its attention." I noted.

"Hunters, fall back to the trees, support fire." Zoe yelled. Instantly the hunters dropped back into woods, I assumed they were going to find a place to get a clear shot.

"I hope you are ready." Said Zoe to me. "As ready as I'll ever be." I replied.

With that we ran towards the already charging chimera. We met the massive beast at the tree line, me with my spear and Zoe with her two hunting knifes, both the size of her forearm.

The second we were in range of the monster, it blew its fiery breath onto us. Lemme just tell you that stuff was hot. I plunged my spear into the middle of the flames, splitting them in half and blinding myself in the process.

From the flames protruded the lions mouth, wide open and ready to bite my head off. I immediately jumped back, narrowly avoiding the beast razor sharp teeth.

The beast let up on it's attacked, all three animal heads focused on me. That was its first mistake seeing as how I wasn't it's biggest an opening Zoe charged the beast and unleashed a fury of swipes from her blades upon the chimera lion neck. The beast screamed out in pain, leaking dust from its neck and wildly swiping its paws in a attempt to hit Zoe. But it was useless as she had jumped back and was already by my side.

"Do that a couple more times and this will be a piece of cake." I sad to her. "Not like," she said without taking her eyes off the beast. "it will now be weary of the both of us. It has three heads, and we have two. They have the advantage." I guess she was right but I I didn't see the worry. Even with three different heads the chimera didn't see her attack.

"Split up." She said. "Try and blind sight it." I nodded. I slowly circled to the right of the beast. Both the goat and the lion were focused on Zoe. Seeing this as an opening I charged the beast. "Wait!" I heard Zoe yell, but it was too late, I was already in full charge. It was at the last second when I remembered something important. The snake. In an instant a massive snake head appeared in front of me. It spit acidic venom towards me from its giant mouth. I jumped to the side last second, barely avoid the attack.

But the snake wasn't done. It t followed up with another attack. It's head moved at unimaginable speed taking a bite at me I was just able to avoid by rolling and getting up. I felt a sharp pain near my shoulder and looked to see some of the snakes venom on me. It was tearing away at my shirt and burning my skin.

I tried to lift my spear up to defend myself, but the pain hindered me. I fell back to Zoe what's still waiting for an opening.

"I told you to circle it, not attack." She said angrily. "I know, I only attacked because I forgot about the snake." I said defensively. "Foolish boy." She said as she pulled out her bow. She started firing arrows at unimaginable speeds. Every arrow met their mark on the lion and goat heads.

"Tie up that cut or else the venom will make its way to your bloodstream. If that happens you will not be able to fight. Do it quick, I can not cover for you forever." She said without taking her eyes off the chimera.

I ripped a part of my shirt off and bandaged my wound. I experimentally lifted my arm to see if it hurt. It still stung a bit but it was manageable. I re-summoned my spear and stood up.

"I'm ready I said to her." I said.

Zoe looked back at me for a split second, giving the chimera an opening. The beast came at us with paws up, ready to cut us to bits. Zoe turned around wide eyed at the last second, barely having time to react. We both rolled away in different directions, making the chimera choose who to target. The chimera stood in between me and Zoe, looking back and forth.

Ultimately the creature decided to go for me, seeing as how I was injured. Zoe, seeing my predicament, attempted to draw the beasts attention. But all she got was acidic spit from the snake as the monster continued to advance on me. I lifted my spear up in a attempt to protect myself but there was no way I could block an attack head on. And dodging would be impossibly with such little space between us.

The chimera continued to approach until there was only a couple feet between us. Zoe continued her attempts to help me but the snake stopped all her advances. The lion opened its mouth allowing me to see the back of its throat turning red. It was preparing to burn me to a crisp. I realized that my spear wouldn't help me with the flames from this close. I crossed my hand over me in an feeble attempt to protect myself.

I sat there on a knee, prepared to be burnt to a crisp from the scorching hot flames. But they never came. Instead all I heard was the roar of the chimera. I looked up to see it being pelted by dozens of arrows. Behind me on top of a high slope, we're the hunters foreign arrow after arrow! With a moment to breathe I quickly got up and backed away from the chimera. Zoe, however, advanced upon the beast, unhindered seeing as how the snake was trying to avoid arrows.

Once in range Zoe lunged forward and severed the snake had from the rest of the body. The chimera roared in a rage and blew its scalding hot flames upon the hunters. The hunters were forced to fall back, in fear of being burnt alive. Zoe too was forced to dropped back to avoid being melted as well.

"Good work." I told her. "But now it's my turn." With that I approached the chimera wearily who was still focused on the hunters. "I want you to stay back in case I need help." I said to Zoe without looking back. She nodded in response. "Just stay careful."

I continued to close the distance between me and the monster. I didn't want to get too close, or else the beast would obliterate me.

"Hey furball," I called out to the chimera. "Don't forget about me." The beast reacted immediately, swinging its huge paws towards me. I was barely able to react, jumping back at the last second. The chimera followed with another attack, trying to bite me with its blade like teeth. Seeing this as an opening I ducked under the attack and moved in close to deliver the final blow. I then stabbed my spear straight through the lion hide underneath his neck.

I stepped back from the beast with my spear still embedded in it, expecting it to crumble to dust. But instead I was met with the monsters paw swatting me away like a fly 10 feet away. Zoe rushed towards me in an attempt to help. She bent down to asses my wounds. "You have done well, let me finish the job." She aid. Before I could say anything a large shadow looked overhead. "Zoe...Watch Out!" I Said, but it was too late. The chimera hit Zoe with all of its force, nocking her into a nearby tree. She sat there at the trunk, borderline unconscious.

The chimera, seeing this, made its way over to her, preparing to finish her off. I looked over to see my weapon on the ground ten feet away. It was to far for me to reach before the chimera tore Zoe to bits. But that's when I remembered something Athena had said. "Your weapon is made out of the death mist, that is why it has the ability to change forms." Maybe I could manipulate it to help Zoe in time. I concentrated all my focus and energy into reverting the spear back into the death mist. Meanwhile Zoe was sitting against the tree, powerless as she stared the chimera dead in the eyes. The beast opened its mouth, preparing to finally get its meal. Zoe closed her eyes, already accepting her fate. "At least I am to die to a worthy monster." She though to herself. She wondered how lady Artemis would react to her death. With all these thoughts going through her head, Zoe forgot something. She was still alive. She opened her eyes to see the chimera with a long black spear protruding from its mouth.

A second later the creature dissolved until all that was left was a pelt made of snake skin, lion hide, and goat fur and the black spear. She looked over at the owner of the spear to see him laying an the floor, nowhere near his weapon.

He gave her a toothy grin and a thumbs up before passing out in front of her.

**Hey guys, Noun here! I just anna say that I'm starting to notice that in some parts of the hunter bit of the story, I'm writing in third person. I get that it's kind of strange to switch pov's without letting read know. But it would only be for a couple paragraphs so I don't see the point. Though later on when there will be more main characters I will explore into different povs and we may even follow someone else at some point, who knows! Well that's all I wanted to say, hope you enjoyed the chapter :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Previously

He gave her a toothy grin and a thumbs up before passing out on the floor in front of her.

Chapter ten

I woke to find myself in a familiar large tent laying on a comfy bed. On the desk next to me was a weird pelt that seemed to be a mash up of multiple animals.

"The chimera." I remembered. After I second look I realized that I was in the hunter medical bay.

"Your awake." I heard a voice say. I looked over too see Sierra looking over at me from her chair in the corner. "Did you have a good sleep? You've been out for a day." She said. "Uhh yea, I guess." I said groggily. "But has it really been a day since the fight. And what happened to Zoe. "She is fine, but right now get some rest." She said.

"But I have to continue," I said getting up. I couldn't waste my time when I had a quest to complete. "I suggest you sit back down, your body has not fully recovered. I realized she was right. I was aching all over and there was a constant stinging underneath my shoulder, where I had been hit by the chimera venom. "It doesn't matter, I don't have time." I said, making my way over to the entrance. Before I could open the door Zoe appeared through the doorway.

"Sit down." She said in a commanding voice. Before I could respond she grabbed my hand and dragged me over to the bed, not very gently. "Lay down." She said as she dragged the chair from the desk and setting it down by the bed. She sat down and spoke. I sat down in the bed, seeing as how I wouldn't be able to make it past her in my current state.

"Now," Said Zoe once I was sitting down. "Tell me your true motivations for seeking out the chimera." I was kinda scared of answering the question. Nekros had said that that this quest was going on behind Hades's back, so the less people who knew the better. I sighed before answering? "Truth is I'm on a quest. And I need the chimera hide to summon a god so I can ask him some questions." I said leaving out the full truth.

"Why do you wish to question a god? And just because you sacrifice the chimera hide will not make them guaranteed to give you the answers you seek. "Well 'why' is kinda of a secret. But I'm sure the god will answer my question, because I have something he wants."

Zoe looked at me suspiciously. I guess she sensed that I wasn't telling the full truth. "Very well, boy. Your statements are bold but what you do from now on does not concern the hunters. If you are to summon a god, wait for us to leave. I do not wish to involve my hunters into your problems. But as of right now I shall have Sierra give you some ambrosia and you can be on your way." She said. "Thank you Zoe, for all the help." I said, meaning it. Without her help I would've been destroyed by the chimera. "It was nothing boy, I expect to see you out of my camp by the time the sun fully rises." She said coldly. "You got it chief." I said with a smile. She scowled a bit then exited the room.

I turned towards Sierra. "Well I better get going, not trying to get on Zoe's bad side." I Said. "I understand but first take this with you, it will be very useful on your journey." She said, handing me a bag filled with golden food. "What is this?" I asked. "Ambrosia, the food of the gods. One bite of that and most injury's will be healed in no time. Do not take too much though, or else your body will burn up and disintegrate into ashes." She said. "Woah." I said, staring at the bag. "Wait a second, if this is so good at healing, why didn't I just eat this before. "Zoe was quite hesitant about giving such a valuable resource to a male, and I am surprised even now she is willing to give it up to you." She replied.

"Hmm, well I guess that makes sense." I said. I broke off a piece of the food, and took a bite. It tasted like the chocolate chip cookies my mom used to make me back when I was a kid. Immediately after swallowing the food my body felt rejuvenated and my arm was quickly feeling better. "Thanks." I said after finishing the food. I put the rest of the ambrosia in my pocket. "But now I really must go, thank you for all the help." I Said picking up the chimera pelt off the desk.

"You are welcome, I wish you good luck on your journey. May the gods be with you." I nodded and made my way out the tent. I walked out side to see the the sun rising in the distance. The hunters were already getting ready to depart. I spotted Zoe in the group of them packing up the tents. She gave me a look and I suddenly remembered about what she said about leaving before the sun was up. With that in mind I quickly left the camp, nowhere in particular.

I wrapped the chimera pelt around my waist, wearing it kind of like a kilt. After a little bit of walking I made my way out of the woods and into a nice green park. I sat down on one of the benches, trying to figure out what to do next. I knew I had to summon either Phobos or Deimos with the chimera pelt, but I didn't quite know how to do that.

My thoughts were interrupted, however by a slight shimmer in the air in front of me. Forming in front of me, in the darkness of dawn, was Nekros the ghost. "Nekros," I said. "What are you doing here." "I told you, young master, that I would assist you any way I can on your quest." He replied.

"O-Ok" I said, a little bit uncertain. If he was here to help on my quest, why hadn't he shown up before, I wondered. He seemed to pick up the look on my face. "I could not assist you against the chimera, young master, for I have limited interactions with the living world." He explained. "But I can give you information."

"Ok." I replied "Then tell me, what should I do with this chimera pelt?"

"As you know, you must sacrifice it to summon Phobos or Deimos so that they may help you find their father, Ares. And from Ares you must get the stone of souls back, and return it to Lord Hades." He said.

"But you must know, that whichever god you summon will not hand over the information without challenging you. You must be prepared."

"I am." I said as confidently as I could. "But how am I supposed to sacrifice the pelt?

"You must spill your blood on the pelt and call forth the god. Hopefully the god will take the bait, and once they do you ask them what you want to know. Do not forget to mind your manners, for they have quite a short temper." Said the ghost.

"I will, don't worry. But what's stopping them from just attacking me and taking the pelt?" I asked.

"Nothing, it is a risk you must take." Replied Nekros. "I assume your willing, to save your mother."

"I am," I said determined. "I was just wondering." Thank you though, Nekros, for the help. I will not fail."

"I have no doubt about that, young master. Good luck on your journey, and may the gods be in your favor." He said, while slowly getting harder to see.

"Thank you, goodbye." Once Nekros full dissipated, I made why way a little into the forest. I stopped once I found a nice little clearing, a place where I was sure no mortals could see.

I unwrapped the pelt from around my waste, and laid it on the floor on the middle of the clearing. I then took off my ring in its sword form slightly hesitant. I wasn't too fond of the idea of spilling my blood.

"For mom." I thought to myself. With that I slightly cut myself on my hand, away from any of my vessels. I moved my hand over the pelt, letting my blood drip down to it.

"Here it goes." I thought to myself. "Child of Ares, I call on you with this sacrifice. Please, answer my call. Please." I said. I didn't know which god I wanted to call on so I said something a little vague.

Nothing. I was starting to think I did something wrong when I suddenly felt a chill in the air. The entire clearing was covered in a light mist that made it just possible to see the clearing, but not beyond.

Out of nowhere the temperature got twice as cold and the mist turned into a thick fog. I was no longer able see three feet in front of me. I grabbed my sword with both hands and got into a defensive position.

It was then that the traces of a presence became indisputable. So strong that it felt like I was being approached by an army. I gripped my sword harder, but for some reason, i had an almost uncontrollable feeling of dread. It was if my body knew I was in great danger and was doing everything in its power to get me to run.

But I held my ground as bravely as I could. But at the same time I started to notice an dark outline of two figures. Slowly over time it became clearer and clearer until it seemed that they were right in front of me.

And at that moment all the fog seemed to be vacuumed up into the figures and their was a bright light. I instinctively turned my head in fear of being blinded just in time, because as soon as I died the light reached its peak and the entire forest was lit up.

After a couple of seconds I turned to see two boys, at least 16, both taller than me, one more so than the other, with drawn weapons. Both had shields in one hand, but one had a spear and the other, a sword. And of course, they were both pointed at me.

I stood for a second in a daze, staring at the two beings in front of me. Both were dressed in normal clothes, making their gear stand out more. They couldn't have been too much older than me but they were taller and way less scrawnier looking.

But the thing that stood out was their shield. I'm fact it took me all my willpower to not run away from the sights, but I couldn't take my eyes off them for some reason.

On the taller ones shield their was a human with a lion head, that looked eager to join hundreds of warring men in battle. On the shield there was the horrific sites of Greek soldiers fighting each other gruesomely with the lion in the middle, enjoying the scenes.

And the other ones shield was just as horrifying if not more. It depicted a terrifying monster with blazing eyes that seemed to be burning my soul. What's worse was it's mouth filled with rows and rows of teeth. The picture itself looked as if it was about to jump off the shield and eat me alive. But for some reason I couldn't look away.

After what seemed like an eternity, one of the beings spoke, waking me from my trance. "What is the meaning of this, demigod." He said in a commanding voice. He couldn't have been older than 16 or 17, but he sure was intimidating.

"Uh, what." I replied. It was all I could think of. Not a second after my response the boy moved at unimaginable speeds, swing his sword at me but stopping right below my chin, the tip slightly grazing my skin.

I stood there in shock of his amazing speed as my neck slowly dripped little droplets of blood. I had no doubt now that if this guy wanted to, I'd be dead in an instant.

While all of this was happening, the other boy was looking around the clearing with a bored expression, as if the sight in front of him was no big deal. "Brother," he said finally looking back in my direction. "Quit wasting time, hurry up and just kill the demigod."

"Not yet, Deimos." I first want to know why this mortal summoned us. "Now, demigod, explain to me why you dare waste our time by summoning us. He said looking back to me.

"Oh, uh well, I was just trying to summon Phobos or Deimos so that they could help me on my quest." I said shakily

"I guess if that's all wish for we may be able to help you, seeing how you helped us attain a form again with that sacrifice." Replied the boy. "So tell me, what do you need from us, demigods?"

"Uhh, what?" I asked confused. "I don't need anything from y'all, sorry for the confusion" I said.

The guy didn't seemed to take it too well. He squinted his eyes at me and pushed the blade a little deeper, causing me to take a step back. "Is this some kind of joke, I was being lenient in letting you speak but now you say you need nothing anymore? If you think that's how you talk to a god, than you are gravely mistaken" he said.

It was as he said that that I realized that these two were gods. If the one called Deimos called the guy in front of me his brother, then he must be Phobos. I know I didn't specify but I didn't want to summon both gods!

I didn't know if this was good or bad. But with all these thoughts in my head I had to think of something to say.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry, my lord,"I started, (I didn't know what else to call him.) "but I just have been confused because of the way you were dressed. Please forgive me.

The god seemed to just now realize what he was wearing. "Hmm, it looks like I've been summoned in the modern clothes of this era." He said. He snapped his fingers and instantly changed into traditional looking Greek armor.

"I'll forgive you for your mistake but hurry up and state your wish, I'm getting impatient." Said Phobos.

"Thank you my lord. And well, I summoned just so I could ask you an question. Do you know where Ares is, or how I can find him?" I said hesitantly. I wasn't sure if it was a impolite question, all I knew was that I didn't wanna make him mad.

Silence. The question made Deimos turn his head back to our conversation, but made no move to answer it, just waiting for Phobos's answer. But Phobos stood still for a second with a look on his face that I couldn't interpret.

After what seemed like an eternity, Phobos spoke. "So you summoned us just so you could meet our father?" With this response Deimos turned away, slightly agitated

Wait- was that disappointment in his voice?

"Uh, yes if that is ok." I said hesitantly.

"Very well, but do not expect for me to give up such useful information without a challenge." Phobos said, adopting his commanding voice again.

"Of course, but I'm willing to do any challenge you have." I replied confidently.

"That's nice to hear, but I wonder, will you regret those words soon?" He said with an amused expression. "Since as of right now you are nowhere near strong enough to survive a duel, I suppose I must challenge you mentally then." He said.

"How does that sound? I cannot guarantee your life either"

"U-uhm, I will undergo any challenge. Whatever it takes." I replied.

"Very well." He said with a smirk. "Deimos come, this demigod wishes to undergo a challenge."

Deimos, hearing this, made his way over to me, finally seeming interested. "You really think this demigod could survive? He doesn't seem like much, isn't this just a waste of time?"

"Have faith brother, he is the one who killed the chimera. Granted, with help but killed them nonetheless. And you never know"

Them talking like I wasn't there and that I was about to die was kind of scary to me. But I was determined, I just just needed to complete this quest to save my mother.

"So, how do I take the challenge." I asked.

"Eager are we huh," said Phobos with a cynical expression. "Let's get started then." He said, finally moving his sword from my neck.

"How exactly do I take this test."

Instead of answering Phobos simply raised his hand towards my head.

"Wha..?"

Before I could say anything Phobos's hand began to glow a bright red. The light continued to grow, brighter and brighter. I attempted to get escape but I couldn't move. In fact I didn't even seem to have a body at.

The last thing I saw was Phobos's smiling face in the middle of the light before the light reached its peak, then there was blackness

New chapters every day for the rest of book one to make up for my break. If you made it this far, only gets better from here. Enjoy.


	11. Chapter 11

**May be typos for this chapter and the next, my original file got messed up. I apologize for that because this is when the story really picks up and gets good. Nonetheless, enjoy.**

Chapter 11

I woke up from the darkness to find myself in a desk seat. I looked around and realized I was somehow back in my classroom. "Percy." I heard from behind me. At the door of the classroom door stood Grover, looking like his usual self.

"Hurry up, its time to start our summer break bro." He said casually.

"Uh, what?" I stuttered out. "I'll be waiting outside, hurry up." He said as he left the room.

Why is he acting all normal, I wondered. And why was I back in class? Maybe it was all just some twisted dream.

Discarding those thoughts I got out of my seat and grabbed my bag. As long as I was here that meant I may have been able to see my mom, and that's all I cared about right now.

Excited by these thoughts, I made my way out the classroom. I could see Grover all the way down the hallway, making his way out the front door. "Wait, hold up!" I yelled after him. He didn't seem to hear me so I ran after him.

As I was making my way down the hall I wondered how all the teachers were already gone. And for a split second I remembered Mrs Dodd's and her true form. But I quickly dismissed those thoughts. Just a dream, I reminded myself.

As I slowed down and approached the door to leave the school, I started to hear weird sounds coming from the outside. "Groaning?" I wondered to myself. I decided to see for myself. I took a step forward to open the door, the noises getting clearer and clearer. I pushed the door open, and the sights in front of me were... horrifying.

Right in front of me, laying on the front steps of the school, was Grover in his satyr form with a pool of blood around his body. He groaned at me and reached his hand out, as if calling out for to me for help.

I stood their frozen in place, horrified by the scene in front of me. But that was even the worst of it. All over the school courtyard, there were bodies of the students ands teachers, all lifeless.

"What- what is this?" I said with a shaky voice. I bent down to check to see if Grover was ok. "Grover?" I almost whispered. "Grover, please, please answer me!" I said desperately.

"Percy," Grover said with what looked like pain. "It's too late, you... you failed your quest. There's..no hope."

"What!? No, it's not too late! I will save you, just hang in there" I yelled.

"No Percy, there's no point. Just give up, it's... all over. Goodbye. Percy." He said. With those words, he went limp.

"No, Grover." I said with tears in my eyes. "Who did this!" I yelled out standing up. "Who did this to Grover." I was surprised when I was answered with a sly laugh.

I turned around to find a figure, completely cloaked in darkness. In fact he himself looked like a shadow.

"Who are you, and what did you do to everyone here." I yelled at him. "What did I do?" He responded. "I did nothing, this is all your doing." Said the figure.

"Quit the crap! Hurry up and give me an answer before I make you regret it." I said as I pulled of my ring in its scythe form. I was gonna make this guys pay.

"Did you not hear me? This is all your fault. Because of your weakness, you failed to retrieve this." As he finished he pulled out something from what seemed to be a pocket. In his hand he had two fragments of a diamond that looked like it was split in half. The odd thing was that it was a dark, dull brown.

"What is that" I asked.

"It's the Stone of Souls. The very thing you attempted to retrieve. As you can see I broke the seal on it, releasing hundred of corrupted souls into the world. This souls are breaking havoc in the world, with the gods barely able to fight back. There are similar scenes all around the world that look exactly like the one in front of you. And all of it could have been stopped if you weren't so weak.

"No. No your lying. I still had time for my quest. I didn't fail!" I yelled desperately.

"It doesn't matter how much time you had. With no resistance, I was able to to retrieve the stone with ease." Replied the figure.

"Shut up, I yelled at him. But I but I new inside then maybe he was right. Maybe I took too long in my quest. No matter who's fault it was, I wasn't gonna let him get away with this.

"I'm going to make you pay!" I said. I gripped my scythe tighter, getting ready to fight him.

"Hmm? You wish to attack me. Very well, go on. I won't stop you." He said, apparently amused.

The fact he was making fun of the situation made me even angrier. I charged at him full speeds, yelling out as I ran. With my scythe in both hands, I swung at the figure, aiming straight for his neck.

As soon as hybrid tip of the blade made contact with the figures neck, he pooped into smoke, as if he was made of smoke.

"Silly demigod, thinking's he is powerful. In reality you are the weak one. That is why you failed, and that is why, you must suffer." Said the voice, seemingly all around me.

"Until next time demigod, good luck surviving." It said, finishing with a deep, demonic laugh. And with that, the prescience left, leaving me standing in silence, with only my thoughts, and dead bodies.

"Why me?" I wondered. What did I do to deserve to this. I was woken up from my thoughts when I noticed something in the middle of the courtyard.

I went down the steps, attempting to get a closer look. I could see that the figure was a human. A weird looking one at that. All he was wearing was a kilt of sorts that seemed to be made of some sort of animal pelt. And over his head he had some sort of furry mask.

I couldn't make out anything about the person with it's back turned to me, so I decided I had to get closer. I approached warily, for all i new this could be the things that killed all the people. With that in mind I gripped my scythe harder, prepared to defend myself.

I did my best to avoid the bodies around me. I truly did feel bad but I knew I had to survive to pay my respects. Also my mom, I had to survive to make sure she was ok.

With that thought to rejuvenate me, I got close enough to speak to the figure. Something about it has a familiar aura. "Hello?" I called out to the figure. "Are you ok?"

The figure turned around to reveal that the "furry mask" was actual its head. For the figure, indeed, had a lion for a head. Not only that, but he was absolutely ripped. He gave me the feeling that even without a weapon, he could destroy me with his bare hands if I wasn't careful.

On instinct I stepped back on seeing this things face. But I knew I couldn't show fear, or else this thing may attack.

But before I could make any moves, the monster shimmered a little bit. And in the next second, in the place of the monster, stood Phobos.

"Phobos! What are you doing here?! You-you didn't do this did you?" I said, fearing his answer. But he said nothing, but just stood there, with a smile on his face.

"Answer me!" I yelled at him, raising my spear. But he simply rose his hand again. Soon he started emitting the same light as before, consuming me and blinding me from my surroundings. Then, darkness.

I woke up a second time from the darkness to find myself laying down on cold quarantine. "Grover," I remembered.

What did Phobos do to him and all those people? Could I really trust him? What if he was working with the guy cloaked in darkness. Did I truly fail? I laid there without moving for a second, defeated.

I didn't even know where I was, but what was the point? I had already failed, everyone I knew was gone, the world was probably ending rig now. But then I remembered something. My mom.

I didn't care if the Greek world died, what good had they done for me? Grover died because of them and my father still hadn't come to help me. But my mother could still be out there, and if there was one thing I cared about, it was her.

I stood up with my new objective in mind. But I couldn't get rid of the massive dealing of dread in my heart. It was so overbearing that I almost fell back to the ground, but I new I couldn't.

I observed my surroundings to find myself near the place I was attacked my the hellhound. It was a quick walk to my apartment but I was still weary. The strange thing was that there was no one around, something extremely strange to see at this time of the day.

But nonetheless I made way through the empty streets I made sure to keep my hand in my ring. I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't gonna take any chances.

And I couldn't figure out why the streets were so barren. Maybe everyone was staying inside? Was the world being affected by the souls being released?

But why would the evil spirits affect normal people? Or maybe..."No" I said to myself. I was gonna think those thoughts, there's no way..."Everyone's probably just inside, they're all probably fine." I reassured myself.

I tried to get rid of these thoughts as I was approaching the front of my apartment. As I made my way up the stairs my mind races millions of miles at a time. What if she's not here...or worse. But I kept reassuring myself that she would be.

I walked up to the door with my heart filled with fear of certain possibilities. I knocked on the door nonetheless, because the fact I could get to see to my mom helped me push through it.

"Mom?" I said, praying for a response. After a second I heard a voice. "Percy is that you? Oh My God! Come in the doors unlocked." She replied.

I pushed the door open to find the room empty. "Mom?" I said. "I'm in my room." She replied, her voice coming from down the hallway. I hastily made my way to her room and pushed the door open. And in front of me, there was my mother, looking like she had just finished showering with her wet hair.

"Percy!" She said. Embracing be in a hug. I missed you so much. "I missed you to mom." I said. I didn't move from her arms, because they made me feel safe. After a moment of peacefulness she finally let go.

"Percy, how are you here right now? Don't get me wrong I'm happy your here but what happened to your quest?" She said.

"To be honest, I don't really know. I came across a god and the next thing you know it... they, uh, sent me here." I said. I didn't wanna break it to her that the world may be ending.

"But what about you? How did you get back home alive?" I asked her.

"Much like you, I don't know. Quite frankly the last thing I remembered was getting carried away. Then next thing I know it I was back in the living room." She said. "But it doesn't matter as long as we're back together." She said.

"Of course Mom." I replied. But something just seemed off. Like everything happening didn't make sense. "Wait mom, did you notice anything weird happening since you gone back?"

"What?" She said. "No, I haven't noticed anything. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, it's just that the streets seem kinda barren." I replied.

"Oh that? Well what did you expect, there all dead." She said nonchalantly.

"What?!" I asked, taking a step back. "What do you mean there dead."

"Well you failed your quest, honey. What did you expect. Most people were killed and the others are in hiding. All because of those monsters that you failed to stop." She said in a tone that disturbed me.

"What? No! No they can't be, they can't be dead I said. "If that was true then why are you still here."

"I guess I was just lucky, but it's just a matter of time before they come for me too."

"No! Don't say that. I'll protect you mom, I swear." I said, desperate.

"Protect me? Like the way you protected Grover? Or the way you protected your school? In fact you weren't even able to stop them even after they killed them all!"

She said.

"You can't protect anyone, your just a little child that can't even stick up for himself."

"No...no..." I said, completely defeated with tears in my eyes.

"Yes cry those tears of defeat. Be consumed by DREAD!" She said as her body seemed to transform. Her fingers grew and her skin turned into scales. But that wasn't even the worst part.

Her face...her face was absolutely terrifying. Her eyes were gone and were replaced with park pits filled with green blazing fire. And her mouth transformed to reach from ear to ear. She had a smiling expression and a mouth filled rows and rows of teeth's, there had to be hundreds in there.

I sat on the floor, absolutely filled with terror. Not just by the fact that the monster in front of me was the embodiment of terror. But the fact that that monster was once my mother, and that my actual mom was probably long gone.

I sat their shaking beyond belief. The fact that I had nowhere to go didn't help at all. I was awoken from my little trance by the monster advancing on me. She raised her hands, that were twice as long before, with pointed ends.

"Now, you just die knowing that you have failed and that everything you lived for is gone!" Screeched the monster.

This thing was scarier than any fury or god that I could come across. It was like if terror was given a body. But for some reason that just made me want to survive even more. Maybe because it killed my mom, or maybe because I was tired of getting pushed around.

Whatever it was gave new the power to move on.

"No!" I yelled at it, getting up and summoning my ring in sword form.

"Little boy wants to fight back. How cute.

You do know that if you kill me your mother dies too" it screeched.

"Wha- what?!" I said slightly loosening my grip on the sword.

"Yes, now decide if you will save your mother or yourself. And if you cannot, then die!" Screamed the creature, lunging forward with its claws out.

I instinctively raised my sword protectively in front of myself out of fear. I closed my eyes, bracing for the pain.

Silence. It took me a second to gather the courage to open my eyes.

And I immediately regretted it. There, in front of me was the gruesome sight of my sword buried deep in the monsters stomach, blood gushing out. I tried my best now to throw up.

"P-Percy " said a weak voice. I raised my eyes above the stomach for the first time. And I was greeted with the face of my mother instead of the monster.

"N-No!" I said, in a sobbing voice. "This cant be real, what did I do?!"

"Percy, how...how could you do this?0 my mom said in a low voice. Then her body went limp as she breathed her last breath.

I sat there, tears dripping down my face, but sitting there silent. For the second time today, I had seen someone I cared about die before me.

And the worst thing was that it looked like it was all my fault. My fault for taking my time on my quest. My fault for not saving my mom from being captured in the first place.

As I sat there, thinking those sad thoughts, my heart was filled with nothing but fear and dread. It was then that another bright light started to fill the room.

"No." I yelled. "I'm tired of this. Just end it already. Just end me!"

No response. Instead the light continued to grow before I was consumed by light for the third time. But this time I retained my consciousness.

I found myself in what seemed like a void. I was standing on solid ground but I had no perception of depth.

"Hello?" I called out into the void. "Is anyone there?"

There was no response for a second. But a moment later there was a shimmer in front of me. And there appeared Phobos and Deimos in all their godly glory.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

There in front of me stood the two sons of Ares. Phobos was dressed in complete Greek armor that cover everything besides his head. And Deimos stood slightly behind him with good plates covering his vital points and a kilt with attachments that reached his ankles. Both looked like highly decorated soldiers.

And of course, both warriors branded the same weapons. Phobos with his sword and Deimos with his spear. Abs of course they had their signature shields.

But I didn't care about their shields right now. I didn't care about anything right now. All I knew was that I was mad.

"What did you do!" I yelled at the gods, while advancing on them.

"What do you mean?" Said Phobos with a smirk that made me even more angry.

I ran up to him and grabbed him by his collar. "Answer me, bastard! What did you do to my mom and my friends!"

Phobos seemed undisturbed by my attempt to threaten him. In fact, it seemed to give him more pleasure. "I simply did what you asked me to do, what's the problem?" He said.

"Cut the bull crap." I demanded to Phobos. I applied more pressure on my grip. This finally seemed to get a reaction out of Phobos, which brought some satisfaction.

I instantly regretted it though. Phobos grabbed both my hands and lifted me several inches off the ground. "Did you forget who your talking to, demigod? Wether or not your angry you should know your place." As he finished he threw me at least 3 feet away.

"Now, ill answer your question when you show some respect." He said.

"...I will, just please explain what's going on." I said trying to get up.

"I simply did what you wanted, like I said earlier. You wished to undergo a challenge, did you not! Well that was your challenge." He said.

"What kind of challenge is that!? It's just torture!" I said, getting angry again.

"What did you expect from us? We are fear and terror embodiments, did you forget? If you want to complete your quest you must get rid of the dread that hinders you." He explained.

"Does that mean, that none of that was real. Did no one actually die? I said.

"Yes of course. At least ", we didn't kill them. But that does matter anymore, because you have failed your trial, making your quest pointless." Said the god.

My heart dropped when he said that, I couldn't fail this quest, or else what I just saw could become a reality.

"No! I can fail this quest. I need to complete this challenge!" I pleaded.

Phobos face turned sour. "Did you not hear me? You have failed, now give up and leave before you anger me. "

"But-"

"Brother," Deimos apple for the first time. "I think we should give the demigod one more chance. If he truly has what it takes, then good. If not, he'll die in the process. It couldn't hurt." Said Deimos with a sly smile. Something about it made me feel like he wasn't doing this for me, but I wasn't going to pass up on this chance.

"Ugh- I don't understand your point here, Deimos, but fine. He then turned to me. "You have on more chance. If you die, not my problem, if you somehow survive than I'll help you. You ready?"

"Uhh yeah I guess. Thank you though...for uh, giving me a chance." I said with a slight bow. It seemed like the right thing.

"Whatever." Said Phobos with squinted eyes. "Just hurry up." And with that he snapped his fingers, and once again, I was consumed by the brightness.

And what felt like a second later, I was back in my seat in an empty classroom. I was disoriented for a second before remembering. I told myself it would be easier knowing none of this was real, but I couldn't get rid of the feeling that that wasn't the case.

"Hey Percy, hurry up, schools over!" Said Grover, startling new from my thoughts.

"Oh uh, yeah I'll catch up with you," I replied.

"Alright, I'll wait for you at the front. Hurry up!" Grover said while exiting my view. "Ok,". I said to myself. "You can do this, you know it's not real. Just face your fears and move on."

I grabbed my bags and got up. I was as mentally prepared as I could get. I made my ways down the hallway. I tried to stay as focused as possible.

I slowed down as I approached the door, attempting to prepare myself. I could already hear the familiar sounds.

I took a step forward and opened the doors. My stomach still dropped even though I had seen this before. And there, was Grover laid on the ground with blood surrounding him.

"Where are you!" I yelled. "Whoever did this, come out!"

I was answered with a familiar menacing laugh. Then in front of me appeared the same cloaked shadow figure.

"Hello there little demigod." It said. I could feel it's evil grin under the darkness. "Come to save your little friends? Well it's too late for that!" He said as he plunged a dark spear into the back of Grover.

Grover groaned in pain, somehow still alive.

"Stop it! Your problem is with me, he did nothing." I told him.

"But you see, it is because of you that this happens. It is your doing, not mine." Replied the figure. With that he lofted his weapon and made a move to stab Grover again.

Whether or not this was a challenge, I couldn't just let Grover suffer, real or not. I lunged forward, summoning forth my sword. I reached out with and blocked the cloaked figures weapon.

"Protecting your little friends? How cute." He said. Instead of responding I partied his weapon and dislodged it from his hand. I advanced on the figure and pressed my sword where his neck would be.

"Wh-what is this?! If you attack me, I will come back! So back off or your friends will die by my monstrous army!" Said the figure.

"Shut up." I growled at him. "You know what, I'm tired of you." I kicked the figure onto his back and summoned my weapon in spear form. "You will suffer the same way you made Grover suffer." I lifted my spear up, and plunged it with all my force in the middle of the figures chest.

The figure growled out in pain. "I will be back, scum! Don't think I gone. I will always be apart of you!" The figure slowly dissipated into nothings.

I bent down to Grovers level to check his pulse. Gone. I tried to hold back my tears. I reminded myself i wasn't real but it didn't change the fact that this was still Grover.

But I had to move on. I got up and noticed Phobos standing in the middle of the bodies again. I made my way over to him, spear in hand.

"I completed your challenge, Phobos. Just like you said." I told him, unfazed by his appearance.

"I suppose you did, in an unorthodox way, but completed nonetheless." He said in an echoey voice.

"But did you already forget? Your only hazard way there." He said.

I gave a distasteful look but held my tongue.

"So I suppose your ready? Very well then." He raise his hand and a familiar light emitted from.

"Good luck demigod" and a booming voice was the last thing I heard before fading into darkness.

I woke up to find myself standing at the bottom of my stairs to my apartment, instead of Central Park. "Guess we ain't wasting time this time." I said to myself.

I made my way up the stairs. I knew this would be much harder than the previous challenge. As much as I loved Grover, my mom was on a whole other level. But I was ready.

I prepared myself as I approached the door. I knocked before awaiting an answer. "Percy?" I heard my name called. I was slightly disturbed, knowing that voice was a horrifying monster sharing my moms body. "It's unlocked, come in" she said. "I'm in my room."

I summoned my sword, knowing what was coming. I knew what I was going to do different but was scared that my terror would overtake me. Nonetheless I went into my moms room.

"Percy, I missed you!" Said my mom, running forward to hug me.

"Stay back!" I yelled. Branding my sword. "I know what you are, cut the crap."

"Percy?" She asked innocently. But all traces of it disappeared as she transformed.

"Percy," she said in her normal voice. "How could you do this?" She said, her voice changing halfway through.

"Shut up, and get out of my mothers body." I demanded.

"Oh? And what if I don't? What can you'd do. Don't forget that it's your fault. You couldn't protect your mother in the first place!" She screech.

"That's not true, I couldn't do anything. But now that I can, I will save her!" I stated.

"Do not lie to yourself, you are terrified of me. Terrified of failing. And terrified of loosing your mother!" It said as it lunged.

I quickly raised my sword to parry the attack, but no following up. The monster seemed to realize I wouldn't be easy so it started to look for an opening.

"Yessss, fear me, for I am terror." Hissed the monster.

"I will not give in to fear, so leave my moms body." I said confidently.

"So funny how you demigods will do anything to save yourselves. Dispose of me then, get rid of me and kill your self in the process." It said.

I stood still, contemplating. What could I do? The monster didn't give me time to think, quickly moving in for the attack. I rolled away, backing myself into the corner.

"What will you do now, demigod? Will you sacrifice yourself toaster your mother? Or kill me to protect yourself?" Said the creature.

I stood in still, cornered with no escape. I contemplated my options. I knew what I had to do, but didn't know exactly how to do it. The monster didn't give me much time to think though.

"Decide, or die!" Screeched the monser, making a move to finish me. I kicked the monster onto the bed frame without thinking. I then place the tip of my sword over the heart of the creature.

"I command you evil sport, leave this body and do not return!" I yelled. "What did I just say?" It seemed to come out without control.

"What?!" Screamed the beast with a blood curdling screech. As if from an exorcism the spirit seemed to be forced out the body. The beast face changed between its own and my mothers.

"Leave!" I commanded. And with that final push the spirit separated from my moms body.

"NOOOOOooooo..." it's voice faded, until it was no more.

I check my unconscious mothers pulse to see if she was alive. Thankfully she was. I moved her till she was safely tucked her in bed.

I was just wondering what to do when a voice boomed from all around me.

"Impressive, demigod. I have to say I dint expect that from you." Said the godly voice of Deimos.

I looked around for him, but somehow as I blinked I teleported back to the black void.

"Deimos?l I called out.

"Here." I turned around and their , in front of me was Deimos in his Greek armor. But his face was changing between his godly features and the monstrous face of the demon.

"That was you." I said, gripping my weapon.

"An aspect of me, not me exactly. Now put that away, I'm not as forgiving as my brother." He said.

I decided to obey, for some reason I was much more wary of Deimos than Phobos. I think it was because I hadn't seen seen him interested enough to say more than a sentence, and the fact that he was made me fear him, in a way.

"But I guess I gotta give you props, kid. I'm curios how you completed the challenge. Somehow you made it through but I can still clearly sense your fears." He said.

"Perhaps you learned to harness it to overcome your challenge. I guess you can never truly be fearless." He said. "I don't care either way cuz you passed the test."

"Thank..you?" I said. I didn't quite know how he felt about me.

"Y'know, I kinda like you kid. Try not to die on this quest, and maybe if you survive this quest we could meet again. And you never know, maybe you'll be powerful enough to face me head on." As he the last part his eyes glowed of green flames.

"But it's time for you to continue your quest, and I won't stop ya." He said. He reached his hand out and a bright light circled around me.

"It's time for me to go, don't forget, if you don't get strong you don't stand a , death spawn." He said. He then was consumed by green flames, and disappeared.

And as soon as he was gone I too was teleported somewhere else.

I opened my eyes to find myself in the clearing that I had first encountered the gods at. I looked to the middle of the clearing to see Phobos standing there in his Greek armor instead of his godly lion form.

"I see you survived Deimos's challenge, impressive. Not many live past it." He said.

"Thanks" I said without much enthusiasm.

"Cmon don't blame me, I was just doing my job." He replied, picking up on my energy.

"I don't," I said. "Just a little shaken, that's all." And I wasn't lying. Even though none of it was real, I was still scared with those images.

"Well I guess it's time for me to hold up my end of the deal." Said Phobos. "Since I feel kinda bad and I admire your heart, imma do you a favor. Last I heard from my dad he was going to mess with some demigod in Denver, it may be his kid or something, ion know. But hell he there for a while, so your best chance is to catch him there." He said. "And if anyone ask, you didn't hear this from me, aight?"

"Yeah, I gotchya. Don't worry I won't say nothing bout you. Thanks for the help, Lord Phobos."

"Just Phobos for you, kid. And I don't understand your quest but for some reason I want to see you succeed. So imma help you at a little bit he said."

"But that's the most I can do for you now, good luck kid. Try not to die." He said. He instantly turned into bright red flames and disappeared.

I stood there for a second, taking everything in. After that whole episode I felt truly introduced to the Greek world. I now saw everything in a new light. And now I was even more to determined to not fail and to save my mom.

I decided I had to go find Ares as quickly as possible. "How am I supposed to get to Denver in time" I wondered. Ares wasn't gonna stay their forever.

That's when I heard a "ka-kaw" from above Circling above me in the night sky I could see the outline of a massive eagle. But as if descended I noticed something odd.

This was no eagle, because from its midsection back it had the legs and tail of a horse.

"A hippogriff" I whispered to myself.

Then I remembered what Phobos has said. "I'll help you as much as I can"

Thank you, Phobos. I said aloud.

I then looked at the beautiful creature in front of me. Something told me traveling was a bout to get a whole lot easier!


	13. Chapter 13

**I ca guarantee there will be typos because I have already gone through and edited this. File is gone and I don't have time, sorry. Also kind of a slow chapter, didn't wanna have it too long (just as good though) anyways, enjoy.**

Chapter 14

I stood their admiring the beautiful creature in front of me. It was an all white beat with hints of blue feathers in its wings. Despite the fact it was made of two different animals that should go together, it didn't look weird at all.

After giving the creature the attention it deserved I approached it. I reached my hand out to pet it, causing the creature to rear its head back. "It's okay girl. I ain't gonna hurt ya." I said.

For some reason I subconsciously decided she was a girl. I reached my hand out again and this time she accepted it. I pet her head gently for a moment, letting her get used to it. It didn't take long for her to start enjoying it and leaning into it.

After I was sure she was fine with me, I attempted to make more progress. I took another step forward and ran my hand across her back, back and forth. She kept her eyes on me but made no move to stop it.

"You don't mind if I hop on for a second. Do you?" I said after a moment of petting.

She didn't seem to mind at all, she actually bent down to help me on. I made sure to keep her satisfied as I hopped on. It seemed she was used to being ridden.

There was something breathtaking about being on top of such a majestic beast. I think this was the only mythological creature that wasn't made to kill me.

I decided that if I was going to be traveling with this girl, she needed a name. I thought for a second before a name that seemed perfect popped in my head.

"Wylo." I said aloud.

It didn't come to me that it was more of a masculine name until I said it aloud. I remembered as a kid I always hoped I could get a magical dog that could talk to me and guide me. "Wylo, the magical dog" was his name.

I decided that a flying eagle-horse was the closest thing to a magical dog that I could get. And Wylo herself didn't mind at all, instead embracing the name.

"All right girl, lets go!" I said bucking my hips. Immediately Wylo skyrocketed upwards, seemingly vertically at a speed that I wasn't ready for.

In only took too wing flaps for Wylo to get over a hundred feet in the air.

"Woah!" I said. It took all my effort to stay on Wylo's back, witch I barely managed. As if sensing my struggle Wylo settled herself into a nice glide.

"Thanks." I huffed out. I was still trying to catch my breath.

I looked around to see the forest covering the ground below me, and the St Louis Arc in the distance.

How long had I been in the clearing, I wondered. It had to have been at least a day since it was already nighttime. The hunters must have packed up camp a long time ago.

I wondered if anyone was able to sense two gods in the same place as I went through my challenge. Nekros had said that gods had a sensible presence, so someone must have noticed two. Did that mean that the gods knew I was on a quest.

This was supposed to be going on behind Hades back, but somehow three gods had already found out. So what were the odds that the god of death himself didn't already know, I wondered.

That's when I remembered something even weirder. Deimos he called me a son of death. I mean, it's not like it had to be a secret or anything, but being the son of death himself wasn't what I wanted to be known as.

And there was also the fact that I hadn't said anything about it. There was just something about Deimos that put me off.

I decided to clear my mind of these thoughts. I had to focus on my quest, that's all that mattered.

As I soared on the back of Wylo, my eyes started to get heavy. I tried my best to stay awake but Wylo's flying was just so soothing. She seemed to notice me slipping and adjusted herself every time.

I decided to trust her and close my eyes. Besides, I deserved a little rest after those challenges.

Once my eyes closed I decided to let them rest, laying down on the fluffy back of Wylo. But of course I couldn't sleep without dreams coming to bother me.

In my dream I found myself floating high up in the air without a body. I looked down below me to see what looked like an abandoned park or something.

I looked around and saw at the entrance three people entering the park. "What are they doing here?" I wondered to myself. Wait, what was I doing here?

I moved in closer to get a better look at the people. Once close enough I saw that there were two guys and one girl. Wait, was that Grover?! I called out to him, forgetting that this was a dream.

I tried to get closer to hear what they were saying, but the dream started to fade. I was waking up. "No, Grover!" I called, trying to get his attention.

"Don't worry about them, demigod. You have your own problems." Said a deep booming voice. " I'll be waiting." Said the voice with a cocky laugh.

I looked around to find the voice, but it seemed to be in my head. Before I could question it though, my dream faded, and I woke up.

I found myself in a dark alley inside some sort of comfy blanket. On second inspection I noticed that the blanket was made of feathers, and I was actually laying against the side of Wylo.

"Thanks girl." I said, getting up. "Couldn't have made it without you." I said to her, assuming we were in Denver. I don't know why but I just trusted her.

"But uh, I think it's best if you not follow me." I said. I didn't know much about the mist, but I didn't trust it enough to hide such a big creature.

Wylo, though didn't seem to mind. She actually didn't seem fond of the city at all.

In a second, she was instantly in the air, flying out of eye sight.

I turned around, and walked out of the alley. I had never been to Denver, but it did seem a lot different than New York. I had decided that the voice beckoning me in my dream had to have been Ares.

So somehow he knew I was coming, which somewhat worried me. But as long as I found him was all that mattered. "I'll be waiting." He had said.

I made my way down the street, contemplating where I would find Ares.

I didn't know exactly how I was going to find him in such a big city when I noticed something.

Across the street from me, there was a real life boar. I blinked a couple times to make sure it was real, but it didn't leave.

The thing was , no one walking by seemed to notice it, but it was clearly there. The boar itself nodded its head in my direction, beckoning me towards it.

I decided that there was no problem in following it since it was the best lead I had. I crossed the street, following the boar. But as I reached the spot it was at, it ran.

The boar bounced around the people on the sidewalk, nearly hitting them.

"Look mommy, a puppy!" Said a little kid.

"A puppy? Is that what they say?!" I sad as I chased after it. I only lost it multiple times as it ran around corners.

As I rounded the corner I couldn't seem to find the boar. I looked around but it was nowhere to be seen. After a minute of looking I decided to take a break at the diner in front of me.

I walked in and sat on the first booth I saw, catching my breath. Not a minute after, a waiter approached me.

"Uh, hi young man. Can I do anything for you?" She asked. The look on her face told me that she knew I wasn't going to ordering anything.

"Uhhh..." I said with no response.

"Don't worry, he's with me too." Said a deep voice. In the booth next to me stood up a huge man in a biker outfit. "I'll cover everything from him, alright? Just get a cheeseburger or something." He said.

"...Ok then, right away." She said as she rushed away.

The man sat down in front of me, not breaking eye contact with me. "Took you long enough, kid. But to be honest I didn't think you had the balls to come here in the first place."

"Ares...?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Perceptive, I like it. I wish certain other demigods were like you. But yes, I am Ares, the god of war." He said arrogantly.

"Yeah, I got that." I said unimpressed.

He squinted his eyes. "You better watch it kid, don't forget, you need something from me"

"How do you know that?" I asked. "I haven't said anything to you, you approached me."

"Don't play dumb, you really think I don't know what's up? Any god who pays attention can tell your on a quest. You really think your doing this without Hades knowing? Think again." He stated.

"What do you mean...?" I asked, confused.

"You really don't get t? Hades and your dad are just using you to find their precious stone before Zeus finds out that they lost it. And the only reason any god is helping you is because we know what would happen if that thing was destroyed."

Hearing this made me mad that I was lied to, but I knew I still had to finish this quest. I would settle things with my dad after this.

"I don't care who knows or not, I just need to finish it in time. So are you gonna help or not." I said defiantly.

Ares took a second before responding. "Damn brat, your lucky your needed. But you know, I'm a nice guy. I was planning on just helping you, but now I gotta see if your just all talk or not. Just gotta make sure your worth helping, y'know?"

"A challenge, then?" I said, dreading the response.

"You could call it that, but a hunt is a more fitting word." He replied. "Pretty simple, all you have to do is find and brick back my pet. Do that and I'll tell you what you need to know."

"What pet are you talking about." I said.

"A boar. As you saw earlier, it's my godly symbol. If your able to retrieve such a fearsome beast, then you got guts." He said.

"You really think I'll struggle with that little boar?" I asked.

"Nope, that's why you be hunting that." He said pointing to the parking lot. Instantly a massive boar the size of a car appeared. It immediately bolted into the streets and around the corner.

"What l?! How am I supposed to bring that back alive!?" I asked.

"That's up to you, but I'd hurry up if u wee you, you only got until sundown. Regret sleeping in now, huh." He said cockily.

"Damn you!" I told him. I got yo from my seat and bolted into the parking lot.

I ran into the street and around the corner of the lot. The boar was completely out of site but I could see the path it left.

I curved through people on the sidewalk, trying my best to catch up to the beast. "Stupid Ares making everything difficult. He knew how important this quest was, but he was still messing with me." I thought.

"Of course I was gonna reply, he provoked me!" I decided I wasn't gonna focus on that since catching the boar was much more important.

I kept in running until I came across a fence that was completely broken down.

Beyond the fence all I could see was a thick forest. I read a sigh near the fence that read Rocky Mountains National Park".

"Makes sense that a wild animal would return to nature." I said, though I didn't think boats lived in forests. But I guess this was time to show of my tracking skills I learned from the hunters, which was none.

I looked towards the sun to see it was already setting. If I had to guess I would say I had about three hours to complete the hunt, not a lot of time.

Best to get going. I crossed over the fence and made my way deeper into the forest. I didn't understand how such a massive beast could make its way into the forest and not leave a trace.

For a forest, I found that there was a severe lack of life besides the occasional bird and a squirrel if I was lucky. Guess most of the animals live deeper in.

It seemed like forever before there was any sign of making out of the forest when I came across a clearing with a massive lake and a mountain on the other side. Also the trees seemed to be less dense.

I decided it would make sense that the boar would head in that direction and started my way around.

Halfway across I found a little cave opening attached to the mountains. I summoned my sword and braved myself. There was something of about this cave.

I made my way into the cave which was darker than expected, but I had no problem with it. After further examination I could confirm there was nothing in the I couldn't get rid of the feeling that their was something different about this cave.

I glided my hands around the cave walls, searching to see if maybe there was more to it than what it seemed.

I was ready to give up when I came across a weird part in the corner. Instead of the stone texture the rest of the cave had, this part was different, more smooth.

I felt around it to confirm that it was indeed different. I tapped on the spot with my sword and heard a clink. "Metal?" I wondered. I tapped it again and this time I noticed not only was it metal, but it seemed to be thin, based on the fact that that it sounded as if it echoed on the other sides.

I decided that that the cave was hollow, meaning there was something behind it. I knew I had to complete my quest, but whatever was behind this wall was beckoning me towards it.

I didn't think that I could break down the wall so I decided I had to find a different way in. "Open sesame." I tried. Worth a shot, I guess.

I stood there for a moment, going over my situation. The boar was probably long gone, there was almost no chance of me catching it at this point. The only way I could was if I got help from whatever was behind this wall. I didn't know why it would help, but there was hope.

I stood there thinking of ways when I heard something beyond the wall.

At first it was faint but it got louder and louder. I could hear someone, a man, mumbling something on the other side.

I could also hear the heavy panting of a beast.

I switch my weapon into a scythe. I would need it if there were going to be multiple enmities. "Damn animals always bothering me in my studies." Said the voice. As he said that a weird emblems started to glow on the wall.

After a moment the wall split in half, revealing a middle aged man equipped with a longsword, and a massive hellhound.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 15

I stood there for a second, observing the possible threats in front of me.

The man seemed surprised to see me, but quickly gained his composure.

"Who are you, and what are you'd ping here!" Said he man.

Before I could say anything the hellhound rushed at me at crazy speeds. I raised my weapon to deter it the beast but nothing stopped its charge.

The beast leaped towards me, pushing past my weapon and landing on top of me. I don't know why I didn't swing it even try to stop it. Despite all that happened, was I still scared?

I prepared to have my face being chewed off, but instead I was hit with a cold and wet object.

"A tongue?!" I thought. I opened my eyes and surely enough, I was getting licked. I held the dogs face, trying to get it to stop.

After looking for a moment I felt some familiarity. "Betsy?" I dared to ask.

She replied by giving a happy bark and continually licking me.

I laughed despite myself. "Good to see you girl, but I need to get up." I said. She was crushing my lungs with all this love.

She seemed to realize I was during and hoped off with another happy bark. I stood up and dusted my self off.

"Ahem." Coughed the man in front of me. "It appears that your already well acquainted with Mrs. O'Leary"

"You mean Betsy? If so than, yeah, I did meet her just a couple days ago." I said.

"Betsy? Hmm I knew that she was friendly but I didn't expect her to already have a name." He said.

"Oh, if your taking care of her then call her what you want. Betsy was just the name given to her by her old monster master."

"Very well, then I'll guess I'll stick with Mrs. O'Leary." He said. "With that settled, I beg to question how you've found yourself in this cave." He said.

"Oh, my bad for intruding, I was just on a hunt and I found myself here. And for some reason I felt the need to open that door. I didn't know someone lived here." I said.

"I see. It's fine, it's an easy mistake." Replied the man. "But it would nice if you were a bit more quiet while in this cave."

"Of course." I said. "Won't happen again."

"Now that that's settled, we'll be going. Thanks for understanding." said the man, sheathing his sword." Ok Mrs. O'Leary, it's time to go. Don't wanna be late for dinner."

"Uhm actually" I started. "I kind of gave up following my hunt because I felt I could get help here and I need to catch it before sundown. So... I was wondering if maybe you could help?" I said to him.

The man seemed to think for a second. He looked at Mrs O'Leary and back at me, before deciding on what to say.

"Seeing as how Mrs O'Leary seems to like you. I myself am quite busy at the time, but I will let you take Mrs O'Leary accompany you. She should be able to find the beast long before sundown." He said.

"Thank you!...uhhh" I said, realizing I didn't know his name.

"Quintus." He said.

"Thank you, Quintus. I'll make sure Mrs O'Leary will be back before sundown, I promise." I told him.

"I don't doubt you will. Good luck on your hunt, young one. But I must be going. Be good Mrs O'Leary." He said as he went back into the cave.

The door instantly shut behind, the boom echoing through the cave.

"Ok Mrs O'Leary, lets get going." I said .

She barked in response.

We made our way out the cave to see the sun on its way down. I couldn't have had more than an hour left.

"Ok Mrs O'Leary, you smell any boars around?" I asked hopefully.

Mrs O'Leary sniffed the air a a couple times before peeking up. She barked a couple times before booting across the clearing.

"Woah!" I said, completely unprepared. I chased after her as fast as I fouled. For such a big beast, she sure was fast.

I followed her as best as I could as she climbed up the mountain. "Wait girl, hold up." I yelled forward.

Mrs O'Leary immediately stopped to sniff the air again. I couldn't stop myself from bumping into her, but she didn't even notice.

Once she picked up the scent, instead of running she crouched down and stalked forward. "We're getting close" I assumed.

I followed the hellhound slowly, my weapon in spear fork, ready for action.

We made our way to a little ridge, and below us laid the sleeping boar.

Being this close to both creatures, I determined that the boar must have probably had more mass but Mrs O'Leary was definitely quicker. I liked out chances in a fight.

But then I remembered something, we had to bring this back alive. "One problem at a time." I reminded myself. I decided that we had to take advantage of the fact the boar was sleeping.

"Ok Mrs Leary, you stay here while I get into position all right. And once I signal, come out and trap the boar." I said. Based on her response I didn't know if she actually understood me or not.

But I had to trust her. So I made my way around the boar, slowly and carefully , until I was right across from Mrs O'Leary.

"Ok girl. Three, two, one...NOW!" I yelled.

Immediately we both jumped forward and closed in on the boar. I'm a heartbeat the boar was awake and up on its feet, fast er than I expected.

The beast noticed Mrs O'Leary first and attempted to run away but stopped once it saw me pointing my spear at it. Realizing it was cornered the beast started to panic.

It bucked you and down, its three feet tusk coming dangerously close. Seeing an opening, Mrs O'Leary leapt forward and swiped the beasts back.

The boar whipped around to counterattack but Mrs O'Leary had already jumped back.

The second it turned its back i lunged forward and deeply stabbed my spear in its back. I decided it was the best place since it would kill it, just cause it to halt.

The beast squealed out in pain before falling on its side. It got back up, then fell back down. Knowing it was defeated it gave up, and prepared for its fate.

"Sorry buddy. It just ad to happen." I told the pig. "But don't worry, you'll be spared."

Wether it understood my words or not, the boar stopped his squirming due to y soothing tone.

"So how do we take this guy back?" I said to Mrs O'Leary. I looked up to see that the hellhound was nowhere to be found.

"Damn. Well I guess I did say she would return before sundown witch was only minutes away." I thought to myself.

"Now, how am I supposed to do this." I said aloud. As if answering my prayers, I heard a loud screech from above.

As if descending from the heavens was Wylo, my favorite eagle horse.

"You couldn't have come at a better time." I told her.

She seeming purred in response. "I know it's a lot to ask but you think you could carry that big guy?" I asked hopefully.

In response Wylo bent down for me to hop on. As I did she grabbed the boar with her front legs and took off. I had heard of eagles carrying baby goats, but this was on the mythological level.

The boar seemed distressed at first but realized that he wasn't firing just yet.

Wylo soared through the air at an impressive speed considering the fact she was carrying such a big creature.

I didn't know if we were going to make it in time when I noticed the diner in the distance. "There girl." I yelled, pointing at the parking lot.

Wylo immediately dived full speed towards the parking lot. At the very last second, she pulled up, narrowly crashing.

Wylo dropped the boar before landing herself.

As soon as we touched ground I ran full speed to the door. I bursted through the entrance making a scene, thankfully though, there was no one really there.

I looked to my left, though, to see Ares sitting their, toothpick in his mouth and a smug smile in his face.

"Look who made it back with just enough time." He said.

"Cut the crap." I replied. "I did what you asked, now just help me and I'll be on my way."

"Straight to the point, huh? Well I guess it befits underworld spawn. Though I'm surprised someone like you has a hippogriff."

"What are you talking about.?" I asked.

"Nothin much, just weird to see a child of darkness to have a mount of Apollo the sun god. But that's not important right now, don't you have your little quest to worry about."

"Yeah, is instead of small chat can you actually help me now?" I asked irritated.

"Yeah yeah, I get it. So tell me, demigod, what do you want to know."

"You know what I want. Tell me who stole the stone of souls and where they are."

"What makes you think I know." He replied.

"Ares, you told me that you would tell me what I wanted to know." I said.

"Guess I did say that. Well sit down and I'll explain."

I looked at him suspiciously before deciding to sit down. This was the only chance I had.

"Just hurry up and explain."

Ares sighed before talking. "Any other day kid, and you'd me dead. But whatever." He said.

"Since you wanna know so bad I'll tell you, but this is something that no other god knows."

"Then how do you know?" I questioned.

"I'll get to to that, just wait and listen kid." He said. "You know, it's pretty obvious when you stop to think about it, it's just most gods are too dumb to pay attention."

"And your not." I couldn't stop myself.

Ares simply grunted before continuing. "Whatever kid. It's probably too much for your demigod brain to understand, but it's clear what god would gain from stealing the stone."

"If it's so obvious than spit it out already!" I demanded.

"Some kids'll never learn huh." He said unfazed. "But anyways kid, does Orcus ring a bell in that tiny head of yours."

"What? What's an orcus." I asked

"Oh well, didn't expect you to know anyway. Orcus is the god of death." He said. "The true god of death."

"What do you mean 'true god of death'" I asked.

"The god of death that existed way before your dad. More specifically the god of brutal deaths. He was sealed away long time ago, during the Titan war. Zeus thought it would be a good idea to uphold peace. And that's when Thanatos took over and became known as the god of death around the world." He stated.

"Ok?" I said, slightly confused by all this information. "So what your saying is that this Orcus guy stole the stone to get revenge? How could he do that while locked away?"

"Kid, Orcus is a god. Not as great as one like myself, but still powerful. Even while chained parts of his consciousness roams free." He explained.

"So where is this Orcus chained up? Who would let him steal something so important?" I asked.

"In the underworld, of course. Zeus may have ordered him to be prisoned but Hades wouldn't let him keep a being from the underworld in Olympus."

"Your telling me he stole the stone right under Hades nose?! Is Hades blind?"

Ares chuckled a bit at my statement. "I told you didn't I, gods egos quite often get in the way. But I suggest you get going west and make your way down to the underworld. It's time for me to get going." Ares said, getting up.

"Wait , how do I get to the underworld?" I asked.

"Figure it out, death spawn!" He said walking out the door. He clicked his fingers and instantly a motor bike appeared. Ares hopped on, revved it a bit, and sped away recklessly into the streets.

"Damn him..." I said under my breath. But he was the least of my problems. Somehow I had to go west, find a god of death, and defeat him in one day.

"But once I retrieve the stone, I can trade it for my mom." I reminded myself. Motivated by the though, I made my way outside and prepared to set off.

Besides I had t settle things with Hades and Thanatos for lying to me. "Wylo!" I yelled out. After a moment of waiting Wylo flew to me at full speed, gracefully landing on the pavement.

"Cmon girl." I said. "We don't have time to waste, hope you got your rest." I said hoping on.

Once I was safely on, Wylo ascended into the air with graceful flaps of her wings.

"Aight girl, straight west, to the underworld!"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 16

We soared through the air at a fast pace. Even though I was used to flying, it was still weird to be at such heights. But I had to focus on what was important.

My mom was probably somewhere in Hades castle. But if Hades already knows I'm coming, there's no way I'm breaking in undetected." I thought to myself.

"So I have to stop Orcus from breaking free, retrieve the stone of souls, and return it to Hades's castle. All in one day." I concluded.

It sounded impossible, and in reality it probably was. If this god could break out of prison in Hades's own kingdom, how could I stop him.

I decided there was no point in thinking negative thoughts. Whatever happens, happens.

I felt my eyes getting heavier, keeping them open got harder by the second.

"Alright girl, imma take a little rest, uhh try and keep me alive I said. And wake me o when we land, or if there's trouble."

Wylo gave an understanding squawk in response.

With my mind at ease I leaned forward and quickly fell asleep on Wylo's soft feathers.

I slept for a few hours before I abruptly woke up. "What is it!" I asked panicked.

But I quickly realized why I had awoken. The sky we were flying in was filled with rain and dark clouds. I could barely see in front of me and the ground was completely invisible.

"Is Zeus angry over something?" I wondered. Whatever's the problem, it was making my travels a lot harder. I had know idea where we were or how to find out so I decided it was best we land.

"Down girl!" I yelled above the storm. Wylo instantly made her way safely to the ground. We landed in the middle of a street void of people.

I decided that Wylo didn't have to go since there was no one to spot her. Also, I would need all the help I could get for this final stretch.

We wandered the streets, trying to find any sign of where we were.

After several minutes of looking I found something that caught my attention. Between two buildings there was a la fence gate with a large keep out sign.

The thing that caught my attention was that the lock was lying in the floor, broken, with a chain cutter right next to it.

Something about it beckoned me forward causing me to approach it. I made my way through the gate, hand on my ring just in case there was any troubled.

The deeper I made my way in my wariness turned into fear. Wylo behind me also seemed unsettled.

Out of nowhere a bright light appeared in front of me. I quickly too out my scythe, preparing for battle. But the light only grew till it faded altogether.

"Who's there!" I yelled into the fog in front of me.

A moment later, the mist split to reveal Deimos standing there in all his glory.

"Uhh, Lord Deimos?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"To help you, what else?" He said casually.

"Why would you come to help me? You didn't seem to care during my challenges." I said. I knew I shouldn't be talking to him like this but u was suspicious.

"Cuz I'm interested in you. I'd be a bummer to see ya die so soon. So I suggest you put that down." He said as he snapped. Instantly my scythe dissipated and turned back into a ring.

"Now, take this and be on your way. And don't die or else I'm wasting that on you." He said. He threw a small satchel at mu feet.

I hesitantly picked it up. "What's in here?" I asked.

"A mount whistle. If you get in trouble you can make a quit getaway."

"Why wouldn't I just use Wylo?" I asked.

"What? Oh uhh, it cuz in the underworld you'll have a different aura to ya. Kinda like a home field adventure. If you were to ride that hippogriff it would die very quickly. It ain't made for the underworld." He replied.

I reached into the back, only to immediately reel it back. Whatever was in the bag was blazing hot.

"Is that coal?!" I asked.

"Nah, just as hot though. But you'll have to blow it to summon the mount, so you better get used to it."

"But that's all I got for you, demigod. Hurry up and finish your quest." Deimos took a step back and was engulfed in green flames, only leaving behind charred ground.

"Guess he doesn't hate me." I thought to myself. But he still made me uneasy. I looked at my hands to see them sweating profusely. Even when he was on my side he made me cower.

"Doesn't matter right now." I reminded myself. I made my way out the alley, more determined than ever. After only a few minutes of walking I found myself in front of a suspicious building.

"DOA recording studios" it read.

"This is it" I decided. This Iowa's the place I needed to be. I didn't know what made me so sure, but something about it was familiar.

"You ready?" I asked Wylo. She gave a slight nod in response.

I took a step forward and opened the door. I made my way inside, ring ready.

Immediately I noticed something wired. All of the people sitting around in the lobby were transparent looking.

They all starred at me, muttering things under their breath.

"Ghost." I determined. I was certain, they had the same distant feeling as Nekros did.

I noticed someone at the end of the lobby. He was a big guy with a security uniform. I made my way over to him.

"Uhh hel-" I couldn't finish my sentence before he cut me off.

"What is that beast doing in here!" He demanded.

"What?"

"Did you not see the sign, no pets aloud!" He continued.

"What do you mean pets?" I asked. I hoped he couldn't see Wylo.

"The beast behind you of course!" He said.

Wylo growled in response.

"Don't okay games with me demigod. Hurry up and state your business before your forced to leave."

"You know I'm a demigod?" I asked.

"What else would you be?" He said irritated. "Now what do you want?"

I decided to just be up forward. "I want to go to the underworld." I stated.

"Hmm? What makes you think I'll just take you there, demigod, after the annoyance you've caused me."

"Because I'm on a quest assigned to me by a Hades himself. Now, will you let me in?" I replied with the half truth.

"Th-that's you?! Very well, I, uh, apologize. I will quickly escort you down.

The man opened the gate to the side of him, letting me through. "Right this way."

Me and Wylo followed him till we came across an elevator.

"Uhh, will she fit?" I wondered.

"Don't worry about that, the ferry will change to accommodate any size." He replied.

"Ferry?"I wondered to myself.

"Out!" The man yelled at all the ghost in the elevator. "Out or another ten years yours to your wait!"

The ghost scurried our until the elevator was empty. We followed the man into the elevator once they cleared out.

The door closed and started to descend as soon as we were in. The lower we went down the faster we seemed to be going.

It got so fast that it became hard to keep my balance. Out of nowhere the decent abruptly stoped. It seemed to happen as I blinked but the scene around me change from a elevator wall to a vast plain on either side.

Instead of an elevator we were all in a long wooden boat flowing down a river.

"What!?" I turned to the man to see him in a long robe instead of his uniform. He was rowing down the river, paying me no attention.

"What just happened?" I asked again.

He turned around to reveal a empty skull in replace of his face. It took all my willpower to not jump back in fear.

"We are now, officially in the underworld. A one way trip from here." He stated.

His voice had changed from a normal deep voice to one that was more drawn out, and a lot less human.

Wylo was moving around nervously, not fond of our new surroundings at all. I couldn't blame her though, the scenes around us were nothing pretty.

We were now in a large wooden barge floating in a sickening polluted waters. The river was so dark I was pretty sure it was oil or something.

And that wasn't the worst part. The river itself was filled with...interesting items. Floating in the river were large animal bones and fish heads, accompanied by torn up diplomas and broken down dolls.

"What..what's all this...?" I asked.

"Disgusting, huh. You have humans to thank for this. Throwing their hopes and dreams into this river, permanently polluting." He said. He looked at me for a second too long.

"But you have more to worry about. Son of death or not, no one is invincible in the underworld."

I realized something when he said that. This was supposed to be my "home". I remembered what Phobos had said about my presence.

I hadn't noticed till now but I was feeling a lot more powerful and energized. And sure enough I looked down at my ring to see it glowing a black pulse.

Wether I liked it or not, this was my home. This was my origin. But then I remembered, Thanatos had done nothing for me.

I was from New York. That was home. I was Percy Jackson, son of Sally Jackson. Thanatos may have claimed me, but decided that I would never claim him.

"We're here, time for you to go, godling." Said the ferryman.

I looked up to see the shoreline of the underworld. Jagged obsidian rocks lined the shore a couple of hundred feet, leading up to a high plateau.

Our boat landed on some black sand near the plateau wall.

"I wish you luck on your journey, godling."

"Wait, I have a question before I go."

"What is it, godling?" He asked. "I don't have much time."

"Where is the death god Orcus being in-prisoned." I asked.

"What...do you mean Orcus." He replied shakily.

"I meant what I said, where can I find the god Orcus." I asked again.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, godling, son of death or not." He said. "But, if you need to know where he is for your quest, I must oblige."

"The death god Orcus, is kept deep in the forest of brutality within the fields of punishment. Let it be known, no matter your father, the forest of brutality is truly...brutal. It does not help that Thanatos is Orcus's mortal enemy."

He stated.

"I understand." I replied. I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but now my nerves were at an all time high. "Thanks for the information...?" I realized I didn't know his name.

"Charon." He said. And your welcome, godling, I wish you good luck on your journey."

Charon pushed off from the shore and turned his boat around, making his way back to the DOA studios.

Time to set off, I decided l. I traveled my way up a well-worn path up the cliff, Wylo trailing close behind.I was surprised to be met with what looked like a weird looking airport terminal.

There were three different entrances under one big archway that shadowed them all. Behind the entrances were tollbooths with figures that looked a lot like Charon. I also heard a distant barking that almost sounded happy.

What really stood out though were the long lines of ghost. Three in total, but only one was moving. The EZ death line was way ahead of the other two that were marked as "Attendant on Duty".

My attention quickly switched to a young man being carried away by two ghoul guards, not very quietly at that.

I had noticed him as one of the guys who was on the news for attempting a huge bank heists.

"I'm innocent!" He yelled. He kicked and squirmed but the guards didn't lighten there grip.

"The judges proved otherwise." Stated h The ghoul. "You are sentenced to the fields of punishment for the rest of eternity.

"NO!" He yelled before the guard snapped his fingers. Apparently he casted a spell or something because the man instantly passed out as his body went limp.

"Take him to the fields." He said as he handed the guy to a different guard.

The guard nodded and dragged the body away from the lines.

"The fields of punishment." I remembered. That's where Charon said the Orcus would be. I decided to follow the guard so I could get a lead on where Orcus was.

I signaled Wylo to come with me as I followed the guard until he led us to a different terminal completely to the left. The guard talked to the ghoul at the turn booth before walking through the entrance.

I looked beyond the entrance to see... horrible things. There were at least a hundred people n a field, getting inhumanely tortured.

Some were laid down on a stretch table, pulled to their limits, others were ring chased down by wild looking ferocious hellhounds, and others I didn't even want to describe what was happening.

I decided that no other place would fit the name "Fields of Punishment". I hadn't felt this much panic and fear since Phobos and Deimos's challenge. But I had overcome those and I would overcome this.

I made my way forward until I was face to face with the ghoul manning the tollbooth.

"Uh, hello. Can you please let me by?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course my lord, but first you must be scanned by the detectors." He replied.

"Detectors? To detect what?" I thought. I was pretty sure the guy so just walked through had plenty of metal on him.

Before I could say anything two ghouls appeared after no where and scanned me down with metal detecting looking devices. Wylo immediately got into a fighting stance, but yielded when she realized they were doing no harm. Not a moment later though, alarm bells rang for as far as I could tell.

I immediately whipped out my scythe and disposed of the ghoul on my left while Wylo took care of my right. I didn't know they would die so easily but I had to find a way into the fields quick.

Before I could act on anything though, a screech echoed above me. I looked up to see none other than Mrs Dodd's batting her wings and skating down to meet me.

She held in her hand a fiery whip, but I knew she was still dangerous without it.

She landed only a couple of feet in front of me and Wylo, both of us ready to attack.

"Hello there, Perseus." Screeched the fury.

"What do you want, Mrs Dodd's." I barked out.

"Please, call me Alecto." She said sweetly. I cringed internally. "As for what I want, I am simply doing my job."

"An outsider and his pet are trying to make it into my fields of punishment." She snarled.

"I'm the son of Thanatos, let me through." I said.

"That won't work on me, little child. Don't forget, your still the number one suspect for the thief of the stone." She replied.

"And now I'm clearing my name, so let me through." I said confidently.

"But you do know what will happen if you don't, you will be tried and found guilty, leaving your fate in my hands." She said.

"That won't happen. Now let me through, Alecto, before o use force." I said getting tired of this.

"You really think you and your little pet stand a chance against me and my companions?" She asked. Wylo growled in response. "But lucky for you, there is no need for bloodshed, for now. Go little demigod. Whatever you wish to achieve in those fields remains a mystery to me though." She said.

The fury immediately took off with a bloodcurdling screech before making her way past the EZ death line.

I sighed a sigh of relief before putting away my weapon.

"Ok Wylo, there's no time to waste I said giving her a slight pet." We made our way through the entrance and immediately made our way to the left.

We wanted to avoid the torture as much as possible and way to the right we could see a huge black castles which I assumed was Hades's and I wanted to stay as far away from that as I could.

Wylo and I tracked for what seemed like forever in the fields m, coming across more and more horrid sights, before finally coming to a couple of trees.

And this trees quickly turned into a dense forest. "Don't think there would be too many normal forests in a place like this." I said. "This must be it, the forest of brutalities."

After only a few seconds of walking into the forest I already felt off. I still had the same strength as before, but it just felt different

It had a different vibe to it I guess. The power was still there but it didn't seem as easy to pull out, as if my body didn't want it to be there at all. But that wasn't't the only thing that put me off.

It was faint at first but there was no denying that we were closing in on a menacing presence. We continued to walk but stopped dead in our tracks when we came across a clearing. I immediately whipped out my scythe and Wylo got in a fighting stance.

At the end of a clearing was a cave that I couldn't see two feet into because of how dark it was, but that wasn't what I was worried about.

Curled up and sleeping in the middle of the clearing was a pitch black dog-horse hybrid with three massive horns covering its head, and to add on, it was the size of an elephant.

And to make matters even worse, the moment I took out my weapon, it's big black beady eyes snapped open.

**Slightly longer chapter to make for the probably obvious typos and i think i missed a day to post, i dont even know. Screw quality over quantity cuz i said i would update. Thanks for feedback though, and just gonna let yall know that the next chapter... is finna be crazy. Also this book is coming close to its conclusion as yall could probably tell with its relation with the actual book. Just gonna say it now, no connection with the son of Poseidon in this book unless i last minute change. That will be explained when i do finish. And also the series "Son of Thanatos" will continue on obviously past this book one. That too will also be explained in deep detail at the end.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The beast blinked a couple times, it's eyes focused on my and Wylo. It seemed to be slowly realizing the situation. I stood still, partially to not trigger the beast, and partially out of fear.

And you can't blame me, this monster looked like a cross between a demonic horse and an evil doberman. Not to mention it was the size of a school bus and it had three massive horns that were over half my body length.

I decided to make the first move by slightly moving my scythe.

I never regretted something so fast.

In the literal blink of an eye the beast was up on its feet at lungeing towards me.

My body moved on instinct, faster than I thought. I rolled to the side, the horses mouth narrowly missing me. And thankfully so, because instead of normal horse teeth, it's mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth.

As soon as I got back up I looked over to check if Wylo was safe. I saw that the monster had a couple of white feathers in his mouth, which made my heart jump, but behind it I saw Wylo looking unharmed besides a little blood on her wing.

Despite the blood she looked at the beast with a dead set stare, ready to strike but waiting for the right opening.

I was trying to think of a way to get to Wylo but the monster quickly forced me to pay attention to it.

At speeds that seemed impossible for such a large monster, the beast rushed towards me once again with its pointed teeth bared.

I decided I wouldn't get anywhere with just running so I raised my scythe and held my ground.

As soon as the beast got close enough, I took a step forward and slashed my scythe upward with all my power, which was a lot more than I intended, a side effect of the underworld.

My scythe cut straight through the beasts jaw, knocking out a couple of its teeth and causing blood to flow like a river from it's mouth.

The beast reared back in pain only to be pounced on and clawed by Wylo. It whipped it's head around to get rid of it's attacker, but Wylo was already out of striking distance, but ready to pounce again.

Once the beast realized this wasn't going to be an easy battle, it moved back and got into a defensive position. The monster circled around me and Wylo, waiting for one of our guards to slack. I made sure to keep my scythe up, deterring the beast from attacking while looking for an opening myself.

I noticed things about the beast that I didn't have time to see before. The creature seemed to have bones on the outside of its body that looked like a type of armor. I saw that the biggest opening besides the face was on the bottom of its belly. I didn't think it would be possible to hit that spot without major luck.

And I thought I received it when the beast flicked its head towards Wylo. I pounced on the opportunity with my scythe ready but I quickly realized my mistake.

The monster was apparently smarter than I thought because immediately the monster whipped its head back to me and prepared to rip into me.

I hadn't been expecting the fake-out, leaving me open to be ripped in two.

I was preparing for the worst when Wylo rammed into the creature with full force.

Despite the size different the two creatures flew a considerable distance. In a second the monster was up on its feet and attacking Wylo.

"No!" I yelled. I rushed forward and stabbed my scythe into the beast. The blade hardly pierced the creatures armor but I still managed to get it off Wylo.

I immediately checked up on Wylo, completely ignoring the monster behind me. And I wasn't met with a pretty sight.

Wylo was bleeding,heavily. And her stomach...there was a a part of it that looked liked it had been completely ripped off.

My vision went blurry from rage, it was getting hard to focus by the minute. But before I had time to think, my thoughts were interrupted by the roar of the beast behind me.

I turned around to see the monster charging at me full speed. Without a second thought I switched my weapon into a spear. The monster attempted to bite me but I was already gone.

I slide under it's attack and pierced the monsters belly with a light jab. The monster reared back in pain, but I wasn't done with it.

I effortlessly switched back to my scythe and advanced on the beast. I swiftly swiped my scythe across the monsters front two legs, causing it to stumble forward.

I flipped my scythe and hit the beast's head with the flat of my blade. Despite the fact that I had partially immobilized it, the monster wasn't done yet.

With all the power it had left, the monster jerked it's head forward, attempting to pierce my heart with its horns. I narrowly jumped back, but I couldn't avoid them completely.

Only a couple inches below my heart, I started bleeding profusely. But this wasn't a normal wound, because only a few seconds after getting attacked my entire left arm was already feeling numb.

I attempted to raise my scythe but my left hand wasn't cooperating with me. Before I could figure out why, the beast somehow got up on all fours.

Somehow, even with its injuries, the beast was up and ready to attack. I switched back into my sword and prepared myself.

I knew I couldn't use a spear or a scythe without my left hand, so I got in my best protective stance and prepared myself for the worst.

I rose my sword and tried myself to deter the beast in front of me. But the truth was, I was slowly losing feeling on the left side of my body.

Apparently the beast noticed my weakness and it quickly jumped to the left side of my body.

I barely managed to adjust myself, probably saving myself from a bloody death. The beast continued to move to my left, but I made sure to match its movements every time.

I knew I couldn't keep this up forever before I was completely paralyzed, but I couldn't find any openings. I decided to risk it all and lunged forward with a jab straight for the monsters head.

The monster quickly swerved his head and met my sword with its right horn, something I didn't think was possible.

But I was even more surprised when the monster pushed back and forced my sword out of my hand.

My sword flew a good three feet before landing at the base of a tree. I quickly reached my arm out to summon it back to my hand but my body started to seethe with pain.

It seemed to be another side effect of the damned monsters horn. Seeing me defenseless, the monster slowly made its way over to me. It was toying with me now.

I tried to think of something but my mind was just filled anger. I refused to believe that I had come all this way just to die to some guard dog.

It was then that a weird sensation came over my body, the same one that came to me when I went through Deimos challenge the second time.

I raised my hand towards the beast, my eyes dead-set. Immediately the air around us began to be filled with white fog.

"I command you, beast!" I yelled. "Return to the hole you crawled out from!"

Immediately misty harpoons sprouted from the ground piercing the beast, one by one. The chains had no problem passing through the monsters previously impenetrable armor.

But they were definitely solid, despite there ghostly appearance, proven by the fact that the beast was squirting out blood from the exit point of each harpoon.

The beast cried out in pain as it was penetrated by at least a dozen harpoon tips.

"Now,begone!" I commanded.

Immediately chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around the monsters feet and torso.

As if from a horror movie, the monster was dragged down into the ground, screaming out in pain.

I didn't understand how the beast was being dragged down when we were already in the underworld, but I knew I didn't wanna find out where it was going.

But it didn't take long for the ground to start swallowing the monster.

And not a moment later, the chains were completely gone, along with any traces of the monster.

I stood still for a moment, catching my breath and trying to comprehend what had just happened.

After a moment of just standing still, I finally made my way over to my sword, and picked it up.

My left side was still aching and my arm was numb, but the had pain stopped spreading, probably because the monster was dealt with.

I turned my sword back into a ring, and braved myself. I knew what was coming up.

I turned around to where I had first entered the clearing, and saw Wylo's bloodied body laying there, motion less.

I had hope that she was just passed out, but in the back of my head I knew the reality.

I slowly made my way to the once beautiful creature laying on the ground in front of me.

Once I got close enough I realized just how bad the monster had messed her up.

In the middle of Wylo's belly, there was a chunk of flesh and organs missing where her stomach should of been.

I got down on my knees and held Wylo's limp body in my hands. I tucked my head in her feathery neck, and slowly started to cry.

I cried until my cries turned into sobs. I didn't care if I was supposed to be some cold hearted son of Thanatos. I had been broken down mentally this whole quest, just to suffer a such a devastating defeat right before the end.

And the one companion I had, monster or not, had just lost...no, given her life for some stupid quest!

My grief slowly turned into anger. Anger toward the gods for putting me through this quest for their stupid reasons. Angry because the one who had helped me as much as they could had died for those stupid reasons.

I was slowly descending into madness when I heard something come from below me.

I gently laid Wylo down and looked around for where the noise came from. It was then when I heard a little chirp coming from...Wylo. I continued to look around because there was no way it came from Wylo, her mouth hadn't moved.

I continued to hear the noise till it raised it back to Wylo's stomach. I looked at Wylo's bloodied feathers and lifted them up. And sure enough, there was the source of the noise.

Laying in a dry pool of blood, there was laying a small hippogriff, chirping away with its little voice.

The hippogriff itself was small enough for me to cup it in both my hand. It reminded me of a new born puppy, it's eyes hadn't even opened yet.

I realized how dangerous it probably was for a small animal to be in blood and quickly picked it up.

I had never held a eagle or a horse for that matter but a hippogriff felt exactly how I thought it would feel like.

I assumed this little guy was Wylo's child, but I couldn't have guessed that based on looks. This little hypogryff was a pretty golden eagle in the front and a brown stallion in the back.

If the little guy made it to adulthood I had no doubt it would be just as majestic as his mother.

When. When he made it to adult hood. I decided to honor Wylo to the best of my ability, I had to make sure her child made it a i be even older than her.

As if responding to my decision, Wylo's body began to fade into silver dust, a lot more pretty than normal monster remains.

I stood still for a moment, hippogriff in hand. I was torn in two. Part of me deviated over the loss of Wylo but the other part happy that her legacy would live on.

But all of me knew I had to continue, for Wylo's sake.

I thought over my situation and was debating on what to do with this little guy. It was then that I noticed a satchel on the floor.

I picked it up and remembered what Deimos had given me. I opened up the front pocket and gently placed the little hippogriff in the front pocket.

I made sure not to place it in the same pocket as the whistle, in fear of burning it alive. But I decided that the heat emanating from the whistle would be enough to keep the little guy worm

And I guess I was right because the guy immediately stopped chirping, and quickly fell asleep.

Once the little guy was safe and sound I gently put on the satchel.

My arm was still numb and my body ached, but it didn't matter, because I knew for a fact that in the cave in front of me was the god I came to confront, locked away and ready for me.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I stood still for a moment, preparing myself mentally for the challenge ahead.

I knew I had to retrieve the stone of souls from a god who was locked up. It didn't make much sense but I had to do it.

I didn't know what to expect, if Orcus was free then he would have been long gone, and if he was already in chains, why would he hand over the stone.

It didn't matter, whatever I needed to do for my mother, I would.

With my satchel right around my body, I made my way towards the cave. I had my sword tightly gripped in my right hand, prepared for anything.

The cave itself was pitch black, making it impossible to see into it. For all I knew, it could be a bottomless pit. But I still forged on.

I slowly made my way through the darkness, feeling my way along the wall. After a moment of walking I finally found a hint of light.

I started to walk faster, but I made sure to stay careful. I made my way around what seemed like a corner and was met with a bright light.

I found myself in a corridor, still in a cave, filled with torches on both walls. I couldn't make out any details, but I could tell there was a room at he end of the corridor.

As I made my way down the corridor, I noticed strange markings on the wall. I slowed down to try and find out what they said but the markings were...strange, to say the least.

Some of them depicted weird pictures and others strange symbols. But for some reason, I could kind of read the symbols.

It wasn't easy, but not much harder than English, and after a moment of deciphering I came up with a few words.

"Oath, claim, prison and guard." That's all I could come up with. But I did also notice that one of the markings slightly resembled the monster I had just fought.

My mind was trying to figure out what everything meant when I realized I was coming close to the end of the tunnel.

I raised my sword as best as I could without my left hand and prepared for the worst.

As I made my way into the room, I noticed how big it actually was. "The cave wasn't this big on the outside" I thought to myself.

But the size was the least of my worries. The cavern was interestingly set up. Not only was it way brighter then the rest of the cave, but there were much less natural formations. It was like someone had cleared out the cave.

But the cave was far from empty. All along the side walls were chains, like the ones from medieval dungeons.

Some of them were empty, and some..well it was safe to say that whoever was locked up didn't meet a fortunate fate.

But there was also something else that stood out in the room. In the middle of the room were two large raised stone slabs adjacent to each other.

Laying on the stone slabs were long chains with cuffs on the end in each corner. I could only guess what they were used for.

But in between the stone slabs was a pedestal that looked something like altar. I didn't know what an altar was doing in a prison, but I didn't really want to find out.

But of course, the real center piece of the room was the being behind the pedestal, chained to the wall, hanging three feet above the ground.

Orcus.

I stood still for a long moment, staring at the god in front of me. He was unlike any other thing I had seen before. Based of his appearance alone, he looked much more like a monster. But there was no doubt about it, based on his presence alone I could tell this was a god.

The aura he gave off was unlike Ares or his children. It didn't fill me with anger or fear, rather, I was just repulsed.

Maybe it was because of his relationship with my dad, but being in the same room as him made me uncomfortable.

His looks definitely contributed to that too.

There was no single thing to compare him too, it was like he was an amalgamation of several things.

But if I had to compare him to something, his body shape mostly resembled a bipedal pig.

But he had other features. His legs were furry and hooves just like grovers, but a lot dirtier and way thicker.

His head too, looked like a demonic ram. His horns curved and went out for at least 2 feet.

In all honesty it was hard to tell if this thing could think a coherent thought.

But the beast really did look formidable, with the battle armor covering his body and the massive wings on his back.

The wings. They were the most prominent thing about him.

They were large and bat-like. They reminded of what I think dragons wings would look like if I saw one.I would've been terrified by them if it wasn't for the holes and dirt covering them.

I guess that's to be expected if this thing was trapped here since the beginning of the gods reign. But still, it was kinda sad.

But I had no sympathy for this monster whatsoever. This thing was the source of half my problems.

I took off my satchel and gently placed it down. I gripped my sword and made my way over to the chained god.

Sleeping or not, I wasn't going to hesitate to end this monsters life.

I carefully made my way to the prisoner, wary but determined. And rightfully so, because as soon as I took a step the monster immediately snapped its eyes open.

It was then that I noticed the massive double sided battle axe laying below the god. The thing had to be at least twice my size.

Actually, I had just realized that Orcus himself was big enough to fill up my entire living room back home.

I stood still, and for a moment I doubted wether or not the chains in him would hold.

But I needed to finish what I came here to do.

I didn't come here to kill the god, though I wouldn't mind doing that. I was here to retrieve the stone from him and make it out alive, for my mom.

"Orcus!" I yelled out. "I have come for the stone of souls, give it to me, now!" I demanded.

I kept my guard up the entire time, wether he was chained or not, I had no doubt he was still dangerous.

The god didn't make any movements for a moment, making me wonder wether he was awake.

But not a second later, the gods eyes started to glow. No, not glow, they completely turned white.

A booming laugh started to ring around the cavern, shaking the walls.

I quickly raised my sword and prepared to charge the god, but his mouth hadn't moved.

"Who's there!" I yelled out.

There was silence for moment.

But a second later the air in front of Orcus started to shimmer.

I prepared myself, confused on who this would be.

And as soon as the being fully appeared...I was just as clueless.

In front of me stood a tall muscular man.

He wore a red suit and black tie that somehow made him look like the strangest thing in the room.

But that wasn't the only thing that stood out about the man.

The man had on a large animal skull on his head that looked like a cross between a deer and a goat.

But the thing that set me off about it was the eye sockets. Instead of being empty they were filled with a green light, almost as if it was alive.

As for the man himself, I couldn't make out anything about his face because the skull covered most of it. I could tell, though, that he had on a sleek smile.

In all, he looked pretty weird, with the suit and skull combo.

"Who are you?" I asked, guard still up.

"What do you mean, I'm the one you came for, am I not?" He asked.

"What are you talking about." I replied.

He sighed a bit before answering.

"I am Orcus. God of broken oaths, brutality, and death. He said.

I was a little taken aback by his response.

"Quit playing games!" I said. "Orcus is right behind you."

"I suppose it's too much for a demigod like you to understand." He said. "But I am Orcus's conscious. His mind, if you will." He said.

"H-How is that possible?" I asked confused. "How can you be free while your body is locked up."

"That's the thing, demigod. This IS my body. The beast behind me is my other half's body. And the skull on my head contains the mind of my other half." He explained. As he finished the skull blew out smoke from its "nose".

"As for how I am free, well I didn't spend all my imprisonment doing nothing." He said with a smile.

I didn't completely understand, but it didn't matter to me. I knew what I needed to do.

"So if you really are Orcus, tell me where the stone of souls is." I said.

"Hahaha. You really don't know, huh. Well I suppose your as ignorant as the gods you follow." He said amusedly.

"What are you talking about." I demanded. I was tired of gods curving my question. "Just get straight to the point."

"Patience, demigod." He said.

Orcus then walked over to where his other body was chained. He bent down and picked up the massive battle axe laying on the ground, with relative ease.

I immediately tensed up.

"A bit too big to handle, don't you think!" He said, casually inspecting the weapon.

"Ahh, I know." The man snapped his finger and immediately the weapon started to shrink.

The weapon continued to shrink until it was only around 5 feet long. It had also lost on of its blades, turning it into a single sided axe. Nonetheless, it was still menacing.

"Much better." He said. The gods suit then started to morph as well. Soon the man was standing with furry leather armor covering his legs and arms. With the pelt and skull combo, he reminded me of the savage Vikings from myths. The ones who murdered hundreds.

His chest were covered with tattoos that looked like they were burnt into his skin. They reminded me of the marking covering the walls in the corridor.

"Now, little demigod, if you truly wish to find the stone of souls, simply look within."

As he said that he lunged forward at me with incredible speeds.

I barely had time to think, but my instincts made me raise my sword at the last second. Thankfully so, because if I didn't then my head would probably be rolling on the floor.

The man stood there for a moment, his axe locked with my sword. I was about to push the god back when he shot his hand out, through my chest.

I looked down at the mans hand that was inside my chest, horrified. I turned my head back up to be met with the terrifying stare of the animal skulls glowing green eyes.

I was about to scream out when I noticed that, despite the fact that a gods hand was inside my body, I felt no pain.

Before I could react the god jumped back, seemingly with something is his hand. I couldn't tell completely because as soon as Orcus backed off, I immediately felt sapped of energy.

I quickly recovered but I had lost that energizing feeling I had when I first entered the underworld.

"Wh-what...what did you do." I asked, out of breath.

But Orcus was focused on something else. Whatever he had in his hand, which apparently came from me, seemed much more interesting to him.

"Finally..." he breathed. "After so long I finally have it." He said.

"What exactly do you have?" I asked, annoyed he was ignoring me.

"Foolish demigod." He said.

"Don't you see, I have finally attained the Stone of Souls!"

**I know this is short, calm down! But technically you got two chapters today so shut up! Lol. but for real, I dont want to stretch a chapter too long, plus it was an easy cliffhanger lol. But trust me you wont get a 2000 word chapter for a while now, mew chapter tomorrow.**

**also go check out my updated profie :3**

**-Orphic ßñæI/\ę**


	18. Chapter 18

S Chapter 18

Silence. I had no response for what Orcus had just said

"What?!" I finally spit out.

"Don't you see, you have played right into my hands, foolish demigod!" He said. I didn't understand what was going on, but based on the cliche bad guy look on his face, I didn't like it.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "And what do you mean 'finally attained'?"

"Well, I suppose it's too much for a demigod such as yourself to fully understand." He said.

"Just give me a straight answer!" I demanded. "Where did you just get that stone from?"

"Are you really do dense? I got it from you, of course!" He replied.

"Don't you understand that this whole quest was just one big scheme to bring you here so I could be set free and enact my revenge." He said.

". . . what? what did you just say?" I asked shakily.

"Did you not hear me? You have fallen for my plan, not only were you fooled, but you have also brought the stone of souls straight to me!" He stated joyfully.

I was about to explode with anger when there was suddenly a shimmer in the air next to Orcus. The shimmer sooner turned to bright for me to watch, forcing me to look away.

Once I looked back, I saw none other than Ares, the god of war himself.

"Ares...Ares, what's going on! Why are you here!" I asked confused.

Instead of answering me, Ares completely ignored me.

"You got the stone right? Finally, took you long enough." Ares grunted to Orcus.

"Hurry up, you need to escape while hades is occupied."

"Im well aware," replied Orcus. "But as you can see, I have a problem to deal with first."

Ares apparently had just now noticed me, his face analyzing the situation he was in.

"You haven't taken care of the kid yet?" He asked. "You really are wastin my time."

"Don't worry, Ares. I was getting to that, I just needed to get the stone safely first."

"ARES! ANSWER ME!" I yelled. I needed an explanation, quick.

"What kid? Oh you wanna know what's going on, huh? Well I guess there isn't a problem since you won't be around for much longer." He said.

"Well you see kid, me and Orcus got a little deal. Right now, I'm just securing my end." He said.

"All I had to do was make sure you made your way to the underworld alive once Orcus here started your quest. And now it's time for Orcus to fulfill his terms.

Start a war among the gods."

"...what?! Ares! How could you work with the guy who's trying to kill the gods! Don't you get that means the Olympians?!" I asked. I couldn't believe my ears.

"Are you stupid, I'm the god of war. A war between the olympians is truly worth all this trouble." He replied.

"And if you want to know about that stone, you better ask Orcus, he's the best to explain." He finished.

"Hmm, what? Oh the stone, yes. You wish to know where it came from? Well that's pretty obvious. Like I stated earlier, within yourself." He said.

"What are you talking about, Orcus" I asked, all of this information was too much for me.

"I suppose I must explain, very well then." Orcus said with a sigh. "But in all honesty, there are some things that still don't make too much sense"

"Such as...?" I asked hesitantly.

"I'll get to that." Replied then god.

"But in short, the stone itself is tied to your very life force, intertwined with your fate." He said. "As soon as you were born, the stone became part of you."

"What...? That makes no sense Orcus. Why would a relic so old be connected with me?! And if it was, why has the stone just now gone missing?! Stop lying to me Orcus!"

"Like I said, demigod, I don't know everything. But someone, presumably with great power, hid the stone within you. And as to why it appeared only recently is simple.

Whoever did put the stone in you made it so the stone would appear when you became of age."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Ares stepped in. "He means the stone wouldn't appear until you started to realize your heritage as a demigod." He said.

I thought for a second.

"But what was the point?" I asked finally.

"What was the point of putting the stone in me?"

Orcus took a deep breath before replying.

"I would love to tell you demigod, but as i said, I do not know. But I don't see how that information would be helpful to a dead man." He finished branding his battle axe.

But before Orcus could make a move, a massive tremor ran through the cave.

"What was that?" Orcus asked after the shaking stopped.

Ares scowled before replying. "Nothing, but I have to go deal with something on the surface, hurry up and finish the brat off." Ares said, as he snapped and disappeared.

Orcus had a thoughtful expression before turning to me.

"Well I guess this is the end of your quest demigod, you did good making it here, but I'm afraid this is as far as you go." Said Orcus.

I stayed still and gripped my scythe tighter but kept my head down.

"No witty comeback? I suppose there's nothing much for you to say in this position, huh?" Orcus said with a sickly grin.

But I wasn't worried at all. In fact, I was a feeling pretty good. I looked at Orcus with a smile of my own that slowly turned into a chuckle.

Orcus's expression quickly changed.

"What's so funny demigod? You don't really think you stand a chance against me, do you?"

"Your right Orcus, I probably should be afraid of you. But you just told me some crucial bit of information." I replied.

"And that is..?" He asked

"Well, the stone of souls is part of me, right? And as long as I'm alive it's connected to me?" I asked.

"Yes demigod, what are you getting at?" Orcus asked irritated.

"Nothing, but I just want you to know that you brought upon your own downfall."

I jerked my hand out towards Orcus and focused.

"Wha-?!" Orcus exclaimed.

Before Orcus could react, the stone of souls flew out of his hand and landed in mine.

"It seems that your in quite the predicament." I mocked.

Orcus's eyes blazed green with fury, making it look like he was about to explode. When it seemed like he was about to pop, he turned his head down, and went quiet.

****silence****

After a moment he raised his head again.

In a demonic voice, he spoke...

**"You have just made, a grave mistake demigod."**

**_Its back, i guess._**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

I took a step back in fear, despite the fact I had just acquired the stone, doubling my power.

I looked on at Orcus, anticipating his next move.

But Orcus did not move, instead he just stared deep into my soul. Before I could think of what to do, Orcus started to growl and light back on fire.

Orcus's body started to grow, and his axe along with it. It seemed like he was about to reach his original size, when he finally spoke. But instead of the demonic voice, it was his normal human (if you could call it that) voice.

"No...no not yet, we must keep our composure." He said, to his other self I presumed. "We can't falter right now, were too close."

After a moment, a low growl came from the animal skull, the original Orcus, and the god started to shrink.

Once he was normal sized the god looked at me.

"You are lucky i stopped him, or else you would be dead within the minute." Said the god in his normal voice.

"Don't try that with me." I said. "I know you can't control him, and that your much weaker then him. If you had the choice, you would have already let him tear me to pieces." I guessed. I didn't know if it was true or not, but I was pretty confident that the other aspect of Orcus would obliterate me.

"You see that is where you are mistaken demigod, for I am more than capable of killing you." Said the god raising his axe and summoning bone like armor around his body.

"And now its time for you to die." He said.

The god swung his battle axe down, causing a massive blast of energy to come my way. I immediately raised my scythe up, determined to block the gods attack.

I squatted down and planted myself for the attack, and thankfully so, because the blast hit like a truck.

It took all I had to not black out from the pressure alone, but I stayed focused and continue to brace the attack.

I kept my scythe symmetrically down my body, splitting the attack down the middle, protecting my body.

Even though I didn't get hit by the attack, it felt like my body was about to melt down into mush. I had no doubt that if I had been slightly off, I would have been obliterated.

After what felt like an eternity, the attack let off. I looked behind me to see a massive hole in the cave.

I looked over to Orcus to see him staring at his original body. He didn't even acknowledge me.

I got up and took a step forward, my legs still wobbly.

"Is that all you got!" I yelled at Orcus. It was a bad idea but I was upset he thought he could get rid of me so easy.

Orcus turned around, genuinely surprised.

His confusion quickly turned into amusement.

"Still alive, huh?" He said.

"Your quite powerful for a such a young demigod. Shane you must die."

"Sorry Orcus, but I cant do that for you." I said.

Before Orcus could react I grabbed the stone of souls from where I had dropped it.

"Like I said Orcus, I don't have the time to play your little game."

As soon as I said that I absorbed the stone of souls back into my body. How? Don't ask.

But I could immediately feel the power become apart of me. Despite the god of death in front of me, I felt like no one could stop me.

I immediate grabbed my scythe with both my hands, and launched myself at Orcus. The god seemed surprised but simply parried my attack.

"First you choose to block my attack instead of dodging, and now you attack me head on?

You are truly intriguing me now, demigod. How about a little game, demigod."

I immediately swung my scythe again towards the god, this time he simply stepped back.

"Did you not hear me Orcus! I don't have time for your little games." I yelled.

Orcus simply sighed. "Well, I suppose you need a little incentive."

The god snapped his finger and the air in front of him shimmered.

"Hmm... now demigod, let me ask you again," he said showing me an imagine in his hand.

"Do you want to play a game?"

I couldn't reply. The picture in his hand... it was my mother. Her face was frozen with the same expression she had when I had last seen her.

After what seemed like a lifetime of staring I spoke.

"How...? How do you have her? Where is she?!"

"Maybe I could tell you if you play my game" Orcus said sadistically.

"Don't play with me Orcus. I already know my mom is with Hades. A fury took her!" I told him.

"Ahh, yes, Alecto. Powerful pawn, easy to manipulate. Didn't take much for a god like myself to...pull a couple strings here and there. And next thing you know, your mother is at my doorstep." He said with a smile.

"Orcus...please. I'll do whatever. Just give me my mother back." I said defeated.

Orcus laughed evilly. "Finally ready to play my game, huh?" He said as he snapped.

Immediately a cage appeared at the top of the cavern.

And inside the cave, was my mother.

I immediately tried to find a way to get her.

"Not so fast demigod. If you really want to open the cage you'll need the key." Yelled the god across the room.

"Where is it, Orcus. Where's the key!"

"Simple, it's the thing on my very head." As soon as he said that, the skull on his head emitted a low growl."

"Why do you worry, do you not have faith in a friend?" The skull calmed down but didn't seem too happy.

"But to make it easier, I'll make a dale demigod, if you are simply able to take this helmet off my head, I will cease attacks completely."

"Why are you doing this Orcus?" What is your goal, what do you stand to gain?" I asked skeptically.

"Simple, if I am able to disable you completely, you must hand over the stone without hesitation. It's much easier then taking it off a dead corpse. And maybe if you beg, I'll set your mother free too. So what do you say?" He said with a smile.

"I accept your proposal on the Styx, Orcus." I said.

"Good." Orcus said and immediately launched himself at me.

I quickly rolled to the side and swung my scythe diagonal.

I expected to catch the god off guard but he simply jumped back.

"You have to be much faster than that if you wish to lay a finger on me."

I knew he as right, his reaction speed was unbelievable.

I switched my sweat on into a sword and changed my stance.

"A different approach then, huh? Futile attempt."

The god took a step forward and sliced his axe right at me.

I swung my sword in response, barely able to hold against him. Deciding I wouldn't win off defense alone, I followed up with two more attacks. The god parried the first but was force to dodge the second.

Even if my attacks didn't land, I was keeping the god on his feet, which was progress.

The god grunted and swung his axe in an over arching strike.

Even though it would make sense to simply roll away, I decided that I had to be the one to apply pressure. Plus I wouldn't be surprised if the god gutted me mid roll.

So despite my better judgement, I lifted my sword and held off the attack.

My sword interlocked with the underside of the axe, the blade inches away from my nose.

"Hmm, little demigod dare challenges a god directly?! You shall pay dearly for this."

Despite his words, I continued to push against the god. I had no doubt that without the stone or being in the underworld, I would be crushed within seconds.

And something told me that the god wasn't at full power, probably because he wasn't able to kill me. Or because he had just woken up. Either way, I was extremely lucky.

The god continued to push his blade down , forcing me on to my knees. From this angle I could almost see under the gods helmet, and the sights...were horrible. It looked like a void filled with tortured souls filled with nothing but agony in their eyes.

"Now this is right, demigod. Bow before me puny godling!" He yelled.

Knowing I didn't have much left in me, I had to think quick. And right when it seemed like all was hopeless, a genius yet stupid plan came into my mind. Deciding I didn't have too much of an option, I went full send.

I willed my sword to switch back to a scythe, causing Orcus to lessen his force for a split second, which gave me the time to get back up.

Though I was able to get up, I wasn't able to break the hold, keeping our weapons interlocked.

But unlike the sword, I was able to keep the blade away from my face, while also applying pressure with the scythes blade.

The god was forced to finally push off, not being able to take the scythe blade in his face.

"Didn't pay as dearly as expected." I said smugly. Despite almost being killed, I felt confident. Though I though it was a inconvenient weapon at first, I felt confident with it in my hand. Suppose it's on of the few pros of being a death spawn.

Orcus simply growled in response. But instead of launching himself at me, he lifted his blade into the air. Immediately the blade turned into a six foot double sided battle axe.

"You have pushed your limits, demigod. Despite the bet, I will not hesitate to kill you."

"You know what, Orcus? I don't think you could."

The god simply growled lowly and got his blade ready instead of immediately rushing at me.

Despite all my big talk, I knew I couldn't overpower the god physically, and he was way to fast to hit without damaging first.

There was only one way I could think of creating an opportunity, but the last time I had done it I had been completely drained of energy, and it may not even work. I decided to not try it until I absolutely needed to.

Which was seeming to be soon as the god lunged at me at crazy fast speed.

Something must have snapped in Orcus, because he was already twice as fast. I barely had time to slip the attack but because of the size increase, the blade was able to cut a gash in my arm.

But before I had time to even react to the the pain, I saw the massive battle axe come straight for my neck.

My mind immediately started thinking in slow motion. There was no way I was going to dodge the attack, and even less of a chance to parry. Meaning the only way to survive was to use *that*. Knowing that there was no other way, I closed my eyes and focused all my energy.

I knew that if this didn't work I would have no chance of survival. Even though I had never even attempted this, it was the only option. And based on the fact that I was even think right now, meant that it worked.

I slowly opened my eyes to find the massive battle axe less than an inch away from my neck.

"..you sly demigod." Said Orcus with spite in his voice. The god had two misty look chains wrapped around each of his wrists and another around the axes handle.

Orcus jerked his axe backwards, breaking the chains easily, but they did their job.

"How? How did you manipulate the stone already?" Orcus asked curios.

"Wouldn't be the first time." I replied. "Well I have used it twice before, and now that I know what the power actually is, makes it much easier to manipulate, don't you think?"

"I told you, Orcus, you telling me everything will be your downfall."

"Foolish mortal gains a little power and thinks he's on the level of a god. You still do not even know the great power of that relic. Some will never learn." Said the god as he rose into the air.

"But I suppose we need this soon." The god said as something shot out from his hand at blazing speeds towards my moms cage, causing it the fall down.

"No!" I yelled out charging with my scythe.

"Tut tut tut." said Orcus shooting out another object directly into my arm, causing another gash.

I looked at the projectile to find a dagger like object made out of bones, deep inside my arm.

But before I could even scream out, two more daggers shot out at me, piercing each one of my legs, causing me to fall to my knees.

"Yes demigod. Sit and watch what that smart mouth of your gets you." He said as he opened my mother's cage.

I watched on desperately as my mother's frozen body was floated out of the cage and towards Orcus.

"Let this be a lesson, demigod. Do not challenge a god" he said as a another bone dagger shot out, this one bigger then the rest, and pierced my mother through the heart.

**Please do mind the typos, lost my editor (rip ethan [not actually dead]) and yall seen the upload schedule, imagine if i had to edit it too. I will eventually go through the chapters by myself, but let me atleast get a couple chapters out. But if it gets bad just tell me and ill fix it**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

As soon as the dagger made contact with the mother, she immediately unfroze.

She immediately gasped and darted her head around, as if she had just woken up in a strange place, which she just technically did.

It seemed to take her a second to react to the pain, and as soon as she did, she dropped down like a fly, blood leaking profusely.

"NOOO!" I screamed out and ran towards Orcus, ignoring the pain.

With my scythe in hand I jumped with all my power, aiming straight for the death gods head. The god narrowly moved to the side of my attack, his arm forearm slightly grazed.

"You truly are foo-" the god could finish his sentence as I lunged for a second time, this time slicing the gods leg clean through.

A gold liquid started to drip like a waterfall as the god dropped to his knees, his head held down.

I advanced on the god, and swung my scythe down full power. Instead of dodging the god simply glimmered to a new spot.

"Stay Still!" I commanded and immediately four chains shot out from the ground and wrapped themselves around the god.

With a shaky but deep voice he replied. "You think these puny chains will be able to hold me down?" He grunted, breaking the chains and slowly getting up, leaning on his axe.

Despite my anger, I knew he was right. My chains were barely containing the god for a second. But I knew that only mean one thing.

More chains.

Immediately the chains came forth from the underworld, yet again wrapping themselves around the god.

"Did you know here what I said?!" He said loudly, breaking the chains as fast as I could summon them.

But I continued to entangle the god, and after what seemed like forever, he slowly started to break fewer and fewer, the blood loss catching up.

And eventually, after a hard fought battle, the god stood immobilized, hundreds of trains wrapped around his entire body.

"You puny demigod!" Yelled the god. "Get Back!" He yelled as more bone daggers flew towards me.

The first two pierced my leg and arm but I easily parried the rest, their speed greatly reduced.

"Stay back, demigod!" Growled Orcus.

"Shut up!" I demanded and two more chains shot from the ground, but these two had wicked looking spear head points, both piercing the death gods throat.

Orcus tried to speak but all that came out was gargled blood. Even with gold blood flooding his mouth, the god was able to spit out some final words.

"All of this...all of this happened...because you..were...weak."

I didn't hesitate to slice my weapon straight down through the animal skull and the gods cranium.

As soon as I did all the chains disappeared, causing the body to go limp, and the skulls eyes had gone out.

And slowly but surely, the god faded into red ashes.

I stared at the spot where I had just witnessed the death of a god, by my hands no less.

I didn't know what I should have felt, but my heart was filled with the worst dread, knowing what was behind me.

I slowly turned around and approached the limp looking body of my own mother.

I knelt down and waited a second before I slowly turned around my mother's body. Despite what I had expected, my mother's face was quite peaceful, but that didn't change the fact that there was an immense pull of blood flowing from her body.

"Mom...?" I sobbed out, my voice croaking. I felt my tears roll down my face, and watched them drop onto my mother's soft face.

I didn't even get my final words, she was just taken from me so quickly.

I continued to hold my mother's body, doing my best to clean the blood. But despite my efforts, my mind couldn't process the sights in front of me.

I laid my head down on her should and cried for what must have been half an hour, but what felt like an eternity.

I was only brought back to the real world when I heard a screech in the distance from outside the cave.

After I heard it a second time, I was able to confirm the noise as a fury.

No matter how powerful I may have been in the underworld, with my arms and legs leaking blood and my energy depleted, there was no way I would be able to even touch a fury.

And assuming the monster didn't kill me, I would definitely be brought to Hades, or worse my father. And they were the last people I needed to see. Though I would definitely have to come back on day to bash their skills in.

But despite that, I had to leave soon, or else my mom would have passed for nothing.

Even though they hadn't done anything for me yet, I hopefully prayed for my mother's soul to make it to Elysium safely.

I was surprised when I opened my eyes to see my moms body completely gone, and the caver now filled with 100s of beautiful butterflies.

I looked in awe, thinking of each butterfly as a part of my mother's soul. And despite myself, my tears started to flood back again.

I knew I would have to have a proper funeral for my mother, but I still couldn't just move on so quickly after her passing.

But my mourning was cut short by another screech, this one much closer. Knowing i didn't have much give, I stood up and dusted myself off.

I made my way over to the satchel I had gotten from Deimos, my legs still wobbly. I shakily pick up the bag and put it over my head.

I was getting ready to make my way out when I I noticed something laying on the floor. Where o had killed Orcus, laid his double sided battle axe and his deer skull head. I walked over to the remains and picked it up. Immediately the axe had shrunk down to a solid three feet and lost one side.

I put the deadly weapon along with the skull in my bag, as some sort of war spoils.

With my ring on my finger and bag on my back, I made my way out of the cavern and into the clearing where I had fought the massive guard dog.

I was thinking of ways to escape when I had remembered Deimos's gift, the mount whistle.

I immediately took my bag off and grabbed the blazing whistle, but after that fight, I was numb to pain.

As soon as I was getting ready to bow the whistle a blood curdling screech pierces the air and Alecto along with the other furies appeared in front of me, whips blazing.

"Perseus Jackson!" She screeched.

"We meet-" I cut her off before she could finish.

"Do not mess with me, Alecto, I am not in the mood." I said angrily. Though I was angry, I knew I wasn't in a good position, and so did the furies.

"Who do you think you are?!" She screeched. "If I had my wa-" I interrupted her yet again, but this time with my mount whistle.

I expected it to be much louder, but there was almost no sound. Before any of the monsters could react, a massive red hound appeared from seemingly nowhere.

"Uhhh?" The dog barked at me, beckoning me to get on. Considering my predicament, I didn't hesitate to get on.

The creatures yelled at me to come back, but me and my mount were sprinting at unimaginable speeds. We raced through the fields of punishment, the spirits of the damned nothing but a blur.

And in what seemed like a second, we were on the shore of the Styx, running along the black sand. The hellhound continued running until we came across a massive black cliff.

Instead of finding a different path, the beat continued to run straight.

"Wait...WAIT!" I yelled out as the beast ran full speed into the cliff side. I closed my eyes and braces for impact but instead we had ran through the wall and were now in a dark corridor.

We continued to ride until the corridor turned into an uphill path, and in less then a second, we were in the outside world.

Before I could even comprehend our surroundings, the dog continue to run full speed, causing the scene around to blur.

Now that we were in the over world, I could see how fast we were actually going, and... it was amazing that we hadn't crashed and burned already.

I was starting to wonder we were going to stop when the hellhound started to slow down.

After a second of deceleration, the dog came to a stop in clearing surrounded by trees, that gave me weird deja vu.

I hopped off the dog and checked out my surroundings. As soon as I did, the beast dashed away, chairing the grass beneath it.

"Where have you brought me, Deimos." I thought to myself.

"Don't worry, demigod. Your safe here. It's time for you to rest though."

I immediately turned around to see Deimos as he waved his hand across my face, causing my legs to wobble, but I stayed on my feet.

"Resistance till the very end, huh?" Said the god. "Guess that's expected for one such as yourself." He said as he snapped his fingers.

Despite my efforts my legs immediately gave out, and I fell into a deep sleep.

And contrasting my very eventful day, my dreams were completely lackluster, my mind at rest.

"You really are something, demigod." Said the god Deimos, as he ripped of the two misty chains that had shot out from the ground as soon as the demigod has dropped.

"Truly fighting till the very end." He said with a chuckle.

The god then snapped his fingers, teleporting himself and the unconscious demigod away, leaving behind green flames.

*TEN MINUTES BEFORE*

-The Underworld-

"My lord, Alecto and the furies have returned." Said a large man in a dark, long gown. The man would seem quite normal, if there weren't massive wings protruding from his back.

Despite him looking quite strong, the being was bowed down before another man, this one just as big, maybe bigger, but much more scarier looking.

The man sat on a massive black throne that matched the all black throne room. The man on the throne was looking at the other being, a stern look on his face.

"And there report." Replied the man in the throne.

"The boy, he has... escaped the underworld." At this the man in the throne raised an eye.

"And the death god orcus... was found dead."

The man on the throne was quiet for the next five minutes.

"What do you think, Thanatos? What are your thoughts?" Said the man, breaking the silence.

The man, Thanatos, replied after thinking for a moment.

"I do not believe, no matter the circumstances, that a god would lose to a demigod. Even if Orcus had been improsined, he is not so weak as to not only lose, but be struck down by a mere demigod."

"So what do you suggest?" Replied the larger man.

"I believe, Lord Hades, as I think you could agree with, that the only way the boy could have defeated the god is with the stone of souls." Said Thanatos.

After a minute, Hades responded.

"So you mean to say that as of right now, the stone of souls, one of the most powerful relics in the underworld, belongs to a mere demigod?"

"Yes my lord." Replied Thanatos, swiftly.

"So tell me, Thanatos, what should we do with this demigod, your son, no less, that has the stone."

That is hesitated for the first time before replying.

"I believe...I believe that we should do what we need to in order to retrieve the stone from the boy."

"You say that, Thantos, knowing that retrieving the stone could very well mean the death of your child." Said Hades with a tinge in his voice.

Thanatos hesitated again.

"Yes my lord, I am aware." He replied without filtering.

The room was silent for the next five minutes.

"Very well then, Thanatos. Call of the furies and let the boy be. No forces are to attack the boy." Said Hades, surprising the lesser god.

"My lord?" Said the god, taken back. "But what about the stone?"

Hades raised his eyes before replying. "Is there a problem? I am letting your son live. Do you not wish-" Thanatos cut the god off.

"That is not what I mean, my lord." Thanatos said backtracking. "I simply wish for the safety of the underworld."

Hades seemed shook that he was cut off, but quickly recovered.

"I see your reasons to worry, Thanatos, but you sad hours have a little more faith in that son of yours."

"What do you mean?" Asked Thanatos.

"I simply believe, Thanatos, that the stone is safest in that child's hands. You saw an ancient god attempt to take it, and fail, causing them there life. With a little training, I believe there will be few who can stand to the boy." Explained the god.

Thanatos was silent before responding.

"Thank you my lord, for sparring him. I will make sure that you do not regret this."

"I hope your right, or else there will be a monster on the loose. But that is another days problem." Said the god.

"Now you are dismissed, my friend, go and mourn your loss."

"Thank you, Hades" Said the death god as he bowed and disappeared into thin air.

Hades looked at the point where the god had disappeared, a look of longing on his face.

"It's time for you to fulfill your end of the deal, Deimos."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

-The Over World-

I woKe up from my slumber to find myself in a completely different setting.

"Deimos!" I yelled out, reaching for my ring, not realizing that I seemed safe.

But for some strange reason, I found myself not able to reach for my weapon.

In fact I couldn't feel my left hand at all, actually...

I looked over to see what was wrong with my arm, and...

I tried to scream out but nothing came out of my mouth. Where my left arm was supposed to be... there was simply a stub rapped in bandages.

I swung around the little nub, trying to comprehend what I was seeing. But despite the fact I had been awake for at least five minutes, I had just noticed where I was.

Instead of the clearing where the hellhound has dropped me off, I was in a large comfy bed in a nice looking white room.

The room was nice enough looking, but was pretty bland, as if it was just emptied out.

I got up from the bed to see my ring along with the deer head I had received from Orcus, no axe though, laying on the bedside. I decided to put on my ring, which was much harder with one hand, and to leave the helmet.

It was only as I got my ring on did I find that u was in completely clothes. Instead of the jeans and shirt I had left the underworld with, I was in a a comfy pair of shorts and a light tank top.

The more I thought about it, the weirder my circumstance was. I decided I had to find out where I was. Besides, I could leave without my bag, it had Wylo's kid in it.

Making up my mind I made myself out the room, struggling more than I though without my left hand.

I was immediately met with a surprise of a rather large living room of a nice looking house. The interior was mostly white and modern looking, every part of it much grander then a normal house.

But to the right of the living room was a nicer looking dining room. The furniture matched the modern looking house, but the ring that made it great was the window that replaced the entire outer wall, giving anyone eating a great view of a massive nice looking beach.

I walked towards the window and put my hand on it, admiring the view. I was lost in my thoughts when they were interrupted by an abrupt voice.

"Oh, your awake." Said the monotone voice of Deimos.

I immediately wiped my head around and clutched my ring, but joe it on. I didn't feel like getting on his bad side, plus I could barely wield my weapon with one hand.

"Deimos.. how did I get here. Where am I ?!" I asked.

"This is my new home, a summer house on Malibu beach." Replied the god as he walked into the kitchen, still seeming unbothered.

His personality reminded me of how he was when I had first summoned him, completely nonchalant and unbothered.

After a couple seconds, he reappeared with a box of cereal in his hand.

"I brought you here to rest, you were pretty much dead when that dog brought you to me." He said munching on his cereal.

"But I had to cut your arm off so you wouldn't die. Sorry bout that." He said as he happily munched in his cereal.

I went quiet for a minute, trying to swallow the fact.

"Don't worry though," he said. "I may be able to find something to heal it, but you could always just have a prosthetic."

"Uhhh, thanks." I said "But how long.. had it been?" I asked as I thought about how far Malibu was from LA.

"Hmm, times a little tricky, but I'd say around two or three weeks." He said casually.

Before I could respond there was a loud chirping that came from behind me. I turned around to see a flash of brown go across my vision.

Whatever the thing was flew straight to Deimos and landed on his head. The god though, seemed completely unfazed.

"What's that?!" I exclaimed, my ring ready.

"This little guy? I thought you would know, seeing as how he came with you." Said the god as he put his cereal down for the first time, and grabbed the creature off his head, cuffing it in his palm.

Without it flying across the room, I was able to clearly see the creature. And after a moment of looking I noticed that the little guy was Wylo's baby.

"He got so big." I breathed out. When I had first seen him, he barely filled one of my hands, but now Deimos could barely hold the entire guy.

"Hippogriffs are quite the growers." Said the god.

"I found him in your bag, and decided to take care of it, not knowing if he was your or not. I didn't know his name, but we got along well enough." The god said as he lightly nudged the little creature. Despite what he was saying, the hippogriff seemed to like him a lot.

"I'm assuming that the other hippogriff died in the underworld then huh?" He said, picking his cereal back up as the little guy flew onto his head.

"Yeah... Wait, how did you know?" I asked.

"Well the only way for a hippogriff to give birth without a male is with her essence, which would require her life." Stated the god.

"Yea well, she died while we were confronting a monster..." I said sadly. Now that all this was over, I had time to finally mourn.

And there was still one who I would mourn over much more than any other.

"My mother..." I breathed out.

Deimos put down his cereal.

"Listen here demigod, I wouldn't normally do this, but I think you deserve this." He said.

"What are you talking about?" I said.

But instead of replying he simply snapped and we teleported away.

A second later we appeared in a nice field of grass in a please looking village.

"Wh- where are we?" I asked Orcus.

But after looking around I couldn't see Deimos anywhere in sight.

"These damn gods..." I said under my breath as I made my way towards the village. I saw a lady with her back turned away from me and made my way over to her.

I decided I had to at least find out where I was.

"Uhh, excuse me ma'am?" I said as I tapped her on the back.

"Do you think you could-..." I couldn't finish my statement.

"Percy?!" Exclaimed the woman, my mother!

We immediately embraced each other, rocking back and forth.

"Mom!" I said breaking the hug after a minute, tears in my eyes.

"Percy," she said half sobbing. "I was so worried that I wouldn't get to see you

"It's ok mom," I said, trying not to butter into tears. "We're together now." I said gripping her harder.

My mother broke off the hug.

"I love you Percy, but you know this isn't permanent." She said.

"Don't say that!" I said hopelessly.

"No, Percy, you have to life your life, for you, and for me. I knew this day would come eventually, and I'm just thankful I could give you a proper final goodybye." As my mom said that, she started to get harder to see.

"Mom..." I said with a faltering voice. "I'm... im going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Percy my son." She's six with tears in her eyes and a slight smile on her face.

"Stay sage son, I will always be with you."

As she said those words, my vision went white, and in a second, i was gone.

I "woke up" to find myself laying on the couch, back at Deimos's house.

"Your back." Said the god as he put down the remote. There was a show on the tv that I didn't recognize. In the gods lap laid the little hippogriff, looking like a small pet cat.

"Was that a dream?" I asked, slightly hurt.

"No, not quite. Elysium, the paradise for passed souls." Replied the god with his eyes on the tv.

"I suppose you talked to her?" He said, glancing my way.

"Uhh yess." I said, flustered. "Thank you, Deimos, i appreciate it allot."

Deimos shrugged. "I mean, you let me hang with this little guy, so I guess it's even." Said the god with a trace of a smile while letting the hippogriff.

After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"So I suppose you would like a new arm, right?" Asked the god.

I realized realized that my arm had come back in Elysium, but now it was gone.

"That would be nice, to be honest." I replied.

"Guess that makes sense, said the god standing up. Though I can't completely heal your arm, right now, I can help out a little." said the god as he walked over to his room.

A moment later he walked with... an arm.

"As of right now your real arm is being preserved, but this arm should be a decent substitute." He said, handing me the robotic looking arm.

The arm was pretty thing, only being two hands long, but seemed to be pretty sleek.

"Not too great for battle, but great for every dad life." He said. "Magic too, so you don't have to worry about it breaking or falling off.

I simply placed the arm near my nub and it secured itself around it, instantly giving me control.

The arm was definitely magic as it reacted to ever one of my though immediately. Though i had no feeling, I was still able to control it perfectly.

"Definitely weird, but manageable." I said after a minute. I didn't mind it too much, but Deimos was right, this arm wasn't made for battle.

"Glad you like it, because it came with a cost." Said the god.

I raised my eyes upwards towards the god. "Such as?"

"Well, you see..." said the god, raising his hand. Immediately a menacing sword appeared in his hands.

The blade had to have been six foot long, and was serrated on both sides, each point looking wicked.

I instinctively leaned back.

"Chill, I'm not gonna hurt you," Said the god with a slight smile. "But after being summoned by you, I learned my weapon had been destroyed.

And you just happened to bring back a godly weapon, perfect for turning into a n made of me own..." Said the god cheekily.

"Is that where Orcus's battle axe went?"

"Exactly." Replied the god. "I had asked a friend for a favor while getting that arm made, and decided it was the perfect opportunity. Hope you don't mind"

"As long as it went to god use, i don't mind. And hopefully it doesn't make me to in debt to you." I replied.

Deimos flashed a little grin. "I knew I liked you demigod." He said, patting my head and putting his blade away.

"For sure." I mumbled lowly as the god sat down.

"But now begs the question. What will you do now." Asked the god, focusing back on his tv.

I thought about the question, not really knowing the answer. After a moment I replied.

"I guess the only thing for me to do is to find a way to survive. But something tells me I won't be able to live a normal life." I said.

"Yes probably not, and that's why I have a little proposal for you, demigod." Said the god, looking at me.

"I'll let you live with me, rent free and all necessities provided, on two conditions."

"And those are?" I asked, skeptical.

"The first one, I need your help with a a few tasks. As I said, I had asked a friend for that arm of yours, and they were in"kind" enough to give it to me for free.

But, true to their nature, I suppose, the god had told me I was now in their debt, after they had given me the items." Said the god.

"And I suppose you want me to do these for yours." I asked.

"Nah, just for some help here and there. You'll never have to do anything alone, hopefully, just assist." Said the god.

A good needing my help somewhat worried n me, but it didn't sound to bad.

"...And the second condition?" I asked.

"You give me naming rights took this little guy." He said lifting the hippogriff.

I started at the god, trying to see if he serious, but his face didn't falter.

"Uhh-"

"And before you decide, I just want you to know that if you say yes, I'll train you to become the most powerful demigod alive."

As if I needed more of an incentive, as I needed to get stronger.

"I accept you offer, Deimos, I don't really have much of an option to be honest." I Said witch was pretty true.

The gods face was filled with a massive smile.

"Pleasure doing business with you, demigod.

Now why don't you get a little more rest, tomorrow will be your first day of training."

"Alright, thanks, again." I said as I got up.

As soon as I turned around I heard Deimos play with the hippogriff. I made my way back to my room, and threw myself on the bed.

I thought about everything that had happened.

The Greek gods were really real, and I was the son of the god of death. It didn't get much crazier than that.

To think not a month ago I was still in school, living with my mom, and now I was on the other side of the world, living with a god!

I thought about my quest, and of everyone I had met along the way. I wondered what people like Grover and Zoe were doing.

Zoe.

We didn't necessarily leave each other on a good note, but I wondered how she was doing with her hunt. I wondered if I would ever see them again.

My thoughts continue to run, until the came upon the topic of other demigods.

Where there other kids born to Thanatos? How many demigods were there. Would I ever get to meet them.

I decided not to worry about them and to get some rest, I had my first day of real training to look forward to.

No matter what was in store for me, I would be ready. Right now I had to continue surviving, for myself, and my mother, so no matter what, I had to live.

And something told me that with the stone of souls under my belt, and a god behind me, that wouldn't be too hard.

And with that, I fell into the realm of dreams.

**_I did the thing i was supposed to do months ago, yayyy. _**

**_But thanks for sticking with this, appreciate it. I dont know how long consistent uploads will long, but chapter 2 content coming in real soon.  
but yeah, thx_**


	22. Chapter 22

Little intermission episode while I get ready to upload book two. Honestly for now I'm going to keep it all under one story, because a lot of people who read me don't care enough to click on my page, but book two will also be its own story (check my page!).

But just to explain something real quick, because there will be a time skip and there is something that may not make to much sense to explain naturally in the story.

What I'm talking about, it Percys "Stone of Souls". Obviously it's an original idea (there will be a lot of those in this story, along with all my stories ;)), but it doesn't make too much sense as to what it actually is.

We were told in contains the worst spirits to ever live, but also it makes Percy shoot out chains? Like what?!

To explain that it, the stone itself is like a miniature world that contains every evil spirit. The world itself is pretty much a massive prison. So if someone like Orcus was to release the spirits, hell would break lose. I hope this makes sense.

And as to explain why Percy can shoot chains is simple too, there simply part of the world. In reality it's all one infinite-like big chain,hence why their is only two parts with the spear tips, the front and end. But essentially with the chains Percy will be able to trap any spirit inside the stone of souls, causing them to be under his control, more or less. An example would be the guard dog to Orcus's cave, it was out inside the stone and resides there. But in like on the case of Orcus, they can just be used to hold someone down.

Hope that clears any confusion, and if it didn't, I'm certain book two will.

Side not: the actual book 2 in the Percy jackson series is my least favorite (though it's still good, it's just the least fun to reread), but this book 2 Is one of my favorites not only because of the stories, but the characters, new and old.


	23. Chapter 23

Son of Thanatos: Book 2

Chapter 1

I ran through the dense forest as fast as my already worn legs could handle, as if my life depended on it.

Which it sorta did.

I didn't have time to think though as my body went autopilot, narrowly ducking branches and slipping large rocks.

Despite my body wanting to stop and take a rest, I knew I couldn't just in case I was still being chased.

"Stupid god, with his dumb errands." I grumbled under my breath, referring to my unreliable friend, Deimos, the Greek god of fear. One of them, at least.

And I know what your thinking. "How does one end up friends with the Greek god of fear?" But sadly, it's too long of a story to explain right now, with my life currently on the line.

But in short, my name is Percy Jackson, and I have the misfortune of being born the demigod son of Thanatos, and I currently live with the irresponsible god, Deimos.

And right now, I am helping him out with a favor while he was running one of his "errands" but knowing him it was 100% nothing more than watching a movie.

I had only agreed to help him because I was free, and thought it would be easy enough.

Boy was I wrong.

When Deimos had told me all I needed to do was retrieve some wild "exotic worm eggs" I thought he was kidding. But once he had convinced me that he was serious I had made my way over to the nearby woods, where Deimos had said the worms where.

And was I surprised when I was met with a 20 foot long killer worm with massive fangs.

And that brings us to right now, where I was running away from said worm.

Honestly, despite the fact that the worm was terrifying, I was going to stand my ground and fight it.

But I quickly changed my mind when the beast went under ground and appeared beneath my feet, nearly ending me in one bite.

That is when I decided to run.

And now I was being chased by the monster who was currently underground.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to outrun the beast, as it had been nearly 15 minutes and it was still on my tail, plus if I completely exerted myself, I would have no energy to fight.

With that in mind, I quickly turned around and whipped out my weapon, a 6 foot long, wicked looking scythe with a sharp point.

Timoria. The name Deimos had given it, Greek for Retribution. I quite liked the name, it fitted the use of the weapon.

With the weapon, i planted myself to the ground, knowing the monster was somewhere near me.

And I was quickly proven right, as the ground around exploded upward, revealing a massive mouth full of jaws.

Immediately my mind went into slow motion, thinking of what to do.

I instinctively swiped my scythe downwards, planning to make this worms another victim of Retribution.

But the beast was surprisingly tougher than I thought, as it simply reared back in pain the second my blade made contact.

I quickly landed gracefully on the ground a moment later, ready to continue my attack.

The monster though, was quick to recover from my strike, wriggling it's way back into the ground.

Though it was quicker than expected, i had anticipated this move and was quick to launch forward two spear tipped chains that found their way through the tip of the worms tail.

But unlike I had expected, the worm continued its way into the ground, dragging my chains with it.

Though it had gotten away, as long as my chains remained in it, I had a rough estimate of where it was.

I closed my eyes and rested my weapon, focusing on where my chains were. I could feel them moving underground, getting closer and closer.

I prepared my weapon.

...Not yet...Hold it...Hold it...Now!

Immediately the ground burst open as the worm reappeared.

But I was quick to sidestep the monster, nearly losing my arm. The good one. I'll explain that part later.

With the monsters body completely exposed, I swung my scythe across the monsters squishy torso, causing a massive wound.

But apparently it would take more than that, because the monster quickly counter attacked, launching its massive body at me.

With a second to react, I raised my scythe and barely managed to stop the monster from devouring me. But the beast continued its attack, pushing me to the floor.

I continued to push against the monster, using all my power to fend it off, yet no matter how much I trained, it wouldn't help against a 2 ton worm.

I did my best to hold the beast back with my chains, but no matter how many I summoned they simply slipped of its slimy body.

My mind was racing as I tried to think of a way to get the monster off me, when I started to come to the conclusion: I may die.

"Shut up." I thought to myself.

I quickly shot out my spear chains once more, this time they piercing the beast, straight to where I thought it's heart would be, and attempted to yank it off me. But as stated, not so easy when the beast is 100 times my weight, though I was able to lessen its force.

With a big huff, I was able to push the beast off enough to get on my feet.

I knew that I couldn't keep this up forever, and decided that I needed to finish this off quickly.

With that in mind, I kicked the monster back and made space between us.

The monster quickly reared back and prepared to pounce, but I was ready with my scythe.

I stared the monster down, waiting for the first trace of movement. But the monster held its coiled position, not breaking "eye" contact with me.

It seemed like an eternity before the monster got tired of our standoff. The worm pounced at me at unimaginable speeds for such a big creature, but I was ready.

I swung my weapon in an sideways arch, piercing it's skin almost like butter.

But I wasn't left unscathed, as one of its sharp fangs piecing my arm without trouble.

The beast immediately lept back in pain, but to my surprise, it took my scythe with it, yanking it out my hands.

The massive worm screeched out, piercing the air around us. It took all of my power to not curl in a ball and cover my ears.

The monster continued to jerk around until my scythe flew out of it, landing on the floor behind it.

Once the beast had recovered, it slithered around, as if it was looking for something.

Me, I realized.

I guess it couldn't find me without eyes as long didn't make any movements.

It took a moment until the worm calmed down and burrowed its way into the ground.

I knew I had to make it to my weapon, but it would be impossible to, seeing as how any movement would probably trigger the worm to eat me alive.

But seeing no other option, I decided to make a break for it.

I sprinted full speed towards my weapon, hoping to god I wasn't eaten along the way.

And apparently he heard because I was able to pick up my weapon without any troubles.

But not a moment to soon, because not a second after I made contact with my weapon, I heard the ground behind me burst open.

I leapt back and turned around just I time to see the killer worms open jaws, two feet away from my face, ready to end my life.

—

**_And chapter 1 is done. Got it out quicker than I had planned but if I waited any longer I would probably not do it for another three months, but sadly here we are. _**

**_Sorry it was so short, I just was too indecisive on how to end it so I flipped a coin, and this was the result. Hope you enjoyed, expect frequent uploads (probably 1 or maybe even 2 a day). _**

**_Ps: if your reading this on "Book 1" go check out my page to read Book 2, it will be easier to keep up with, but sadly I kinda have to post on both stories because other wise not as many people would see it. But ig your reading on "Book 2" go on my page and read "Book 1" so this makes sense. _**

**_Pps: Shoutout to Ironeagle154, you a g._**

**_Ppps: please leave a review, because on a real note, the views and faves/follows are nowhere near the review rate, also they make me happy :/_**


	24. Chapter 24

Sorry this isn't a chapter today, struggling to find out how to lay it out.

I obviously know the general plot of each story, and details along the way, but some things haven't been finalized, and it turned out harder than I thought, but I feel I'm close to a solution.

But there is also another thing that's much more important that is taking more time than I want to figure out, so I do apologize.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 2

I stared down the mouth of the monster, in what seemed like slow motion, contemplating my life, as one does.

I thought about the little things that lead me here, to this moment.

Maybe if I had slept in today, I wouldn't be here, I thought.

But here I was looking down the worms throat that was filled with teeth. Had to be at least a thousand.

"Well I should probably do something." I thought to myself.

I simply snapped my fingers, and closed my eyes, hoping I wasn't too late.

Nothing.

I suppose I wasn't, as it had been a good ten seconds and I was still alive.

I slowly opened my eyes to see the massive worm, lifeless, and decomposing quickly.

And not too far behind it was a massive 20 foot tall Odontotyrannos (A/N: For those wondering, the beast who guarded Orcus's cave, no real natural way to explain) and in its mouth was the head of the killer worm.

I got up from the ground and dusted myself off, noticing a bit of blood on my arm. I simply wiped it off before putting away my scythe.

I looked up to see the worm, completely gone leaving behind only it's three foot long fangs.

I choose to ignore the teeth, as I already had plenty of "souvenirs".

I finally made my way over to my "big friend", who was now busily chewing on his worm tooth.

The beast immediately stood to attention as soon as it noticed me approaching.

"You are dismissed." I said. "And yes, you can take the bone with you."

The big beast gave off a happy yip, how with a horse snout is unknown to me, and turned into a small blue wisp.

The wish flew around the air, before flying straight into my chest.

Before you freak out, let me explain.

As you already know, I am the son of Thanatos. And right now I currently have a very important under-worldly relic in me known as the stone of souls. I had been born with the stone, but had just found out last year.

What is the stone of souls, you may ask? Well in the words of Deimos, "It is sort of like a prison, or some sort of cage. And inside resides the worst souls of the most dangerous creatures."

And after a year of training, I've learned how to control (some of) these spirits, and make them serve me, though some gave more trouble than others.

And over the past year or so, I've been hunting down some of the scariest Greek monsters imaginable, and adding them to my collection, the big beast that had saved me being one of the tamer ones, believe it or not.

"Shame." I thought to myself. If I had plaid my cards right, I could have added the giant worm to my collection.

But there was no point in getting mad over something that could've been.

I made my way back the path I had come from, traversing the ruined earth the worm had left.

Though I was kinda mad at Deimos for sending me here without warning, I wasn't going to leave without these worm eggs.

I had almost died for them.

I picked up as many worm eggs as I could, and stuffed them in my bag. It was crazy to think these things that I could almost fit into one hand would becomes five times my height.

As soon as I had collected all the eggs I looked up at the sky.

"You know, I wouldn't mind a ride!" I yelled out.

I waited...

One second...Two seconds...

Nothing.

"Guess not." I mumbled as I made my way out of the ditch. "Guess I'm walking." I said as I trudged down what was left of the the forest path, wishing for company.

*Twenty Minutes Later*

I walked through the front door of my house, unlocked as usual. Wasn't too much to worry about when you lived with a god.

I made my towards the kitchen to find Deimos munching on fruity pebbles as usual watching something on his phone. And of course at his feet was our 7 foot long pet, a hippogriff.

"Your back, I see." He said, keeping his eyes on his phone.

I threw my bag filled with the worm eggs in his lap.

"Your eggs." I said stoically.

"Wow, you actually brought them back. I kinda forgot about them." He said,, eyes still on his phone.

"What do you mean you forgot? I risked my life for those, you know?" I said.

"Yeah yeah, but did you kill the skolex?" He asked, looking up for the first time. "Or did you capture it."

"Skolex? You mean the giant worm?" I asked.

"More commonly known as the Indus worm, but yes, the giant worm. So what did you do with it?" He said going back to his phone."

"I had to kill it, it was too dangerous, but I could've gotten it if I had known it was gonna be there." I said slyly.

"I guess, doesn't really matter though, cause that one wasn't even full size." He replied.

The fact that the twenty foot beast wasn't "full size" gave me chills.

"What do you need these eggs for anyways?" I asked, curious.

"They make a great omelet." Said Deimos casually. Over the years he had gotten me hooked on Greek monster cuisines, sadly, so I wasn't to upset.

"Whatever, but couldn't you at least have sent Icarus to pick me up? I know you heard me." I asked referring to the golden/brown hippogriff at his feet, who chose to ignore me.

"What can I say, I guess he just likes me more." Said Deimos with a smile as Icarus snuggled closer with his feet.

Unlike his late mother, Icarus wasn't as majestic as the myths made hippogriffs out to be, something I believe is related to the fact that Deimos more or less raised him.

I don't know what it was, but Icarus has always preferred Deimos over me.

Which that alone didn't bother me to much (though Deimos loves to say it did), but in cases such as this, where I needed Icarus for a ride or assistance in battle, he would much rather stay by Deimos's side.

Times like these made me miss Wylo.

"Whatever, Deimos, I'm going to my room to take a nap, try and be quiet, at least." I said making my way over to my room.

"Uhh I'll try." He replied, letting me know he was going to be as loud as possible.

"At least save me some omelet." I called back.

No response.

With a sigh I closed my door and jumped on my bed, too lazy to switch my clothes.

Despite living here for a year, I hadn't changed my room very much. I first thought I should paint it all black and hang up some heavy metal posters, or something to really embrace my heritage, but quickly talked myself out if it.

All I had really done to customize was add a nice little rack where I could keep my arm.

Ahh, yess, my arm. I had promised to explain.

But there wasn't too much to explain, in all honesty. Simply put, last year, when I had just found out about my demigod heritage, I was involved in a very important battle. In said battle I had severely damaged my left arm, and to keep me alive, Deimos had cut it off.

Though it doesn't sound great, it really did save my life.

But obviously, an arm was very essential when being a demigod, so Deimos had called in one of his godly friends to create me a "magical" arm.

Besides the fact it didn't look too normal, the arm wasn't too great for battle, only everyday activities.

But after enough training, it worked just fine.

But of course, nothing is free.

As it turns out, Deimos's "godly friend" was none other than the Olympian god Hephaestus.

And even though Deimos was a god, Hephaestus was an Olympian, a whole other level. And he wasn't too happy to give Deimos a free gift on the spot, but apparently he had convinced him to hand it over.

But as I said, nothing is free. Very shortly after I had acquired this arm, Hephaestus had told Deimos that we were in his debt. And because we were both completely broke, we had to repay the Olympian with materials.

So in between training sessions, me and Deimos were out in the Greek world, hunting down powerful monsters in order to harvest their spoils to return to Hephaestus.

Which proved to be quite difficult, despite a god by my side. I had still yet to make one of these beasts part of my collection, something hope to accomplish.

And though I had never met the god, he certainly seemed to not like us based off the things he had sent us to do. Many occasions nearly ended with my death, and though Deimos couldn't die, he had come pretty damn close.

But even after a year, Deimos had said that we weren't even halfway through our debt.

But I didn't mind too much, as I really don't have much more going for me. Without these adventures with Deimos, I would have nothing in life.

Even though he sometimes got me in bad situations, I was grateful for Deimos. Though we were casual with each other, Deimos was a god, a quite respected one two, and I was a demigod.

I know some other gods, including Phobos, Deimos's brother, found it weird that Deimos was so hospitable with me.

I don't know what it was but long ago, in Ancient Greece, Deimos along with his brother, had done something that made them quite respected for minor gods.

But despite all this Deimos continued to stick with me, and eventually Phobos warmed up to the idea of a demigod friend.

And with their help, I was able to steer clear from...him.

But these thoughts were too much to think about after a long day of "work."

With my eyes getting heavy, I placed my arm on my rack, and laid back down, deciding to get some sleep.

And it wasn't too long until I fell into a deep slumber.

And to my utmost surprise, I was met with dreams for the very first time in months.

And they weren't very pleasant.


End file.
